Abstract
PurposeThis study attempts to investigate the interrelationship between choice-based educational achievement and employability prospects across the skill-based occupations amongst the youth in India.Design/methodology/approachThis study relies on the use of National Sample Survey (NSS) data on employment and unemployment for the 68th round (2011–2012) and the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) (2017–2018). To estimate the relative contributions of choice-based educational attainment affecting the skill-based employment of youth in a different category of occupations ( high/medium/low skilled), the multinomial logistic regression and its marginal effects have been used.FindingsThe study finds educational attainment both as an opportunity (improvising employability in the high and medium skill occupation) and a challenge (highest unemployment amongst the educated) while ensuring skill-based youth employability. Despite the growing enrolment of youth in education, youth from a general education background does not find sustained employability prospects in high-skill occupations.Research limitations/implicationsVocational education highlights a brighter employability prospect but the acceptability of the same amongst the youth needs a policy intervention.Practical implicationsEducational choices need an intervention based on market-driven apprenticeships and training.Social implicationsThe decline of overall employability in the low-skill occupation raises a threat to inclusive development as such youth results to Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET), better identified as the unproductive economic youth.Originality/valueThis study attempts to investigate that “how far the choice of educational attainment (general/technical/vocational) is able to make youth a fit in the world of work?” in the Indian context, where the youth constitute the highest share in the population.
Highlights
The youth represent the most potential workforce at the meso, micro and the macro strata of economic development
The study has attempted to highlight the role of specific educational choices/attainments as an opportunity or a challenge in deriving the skill-specific employability of the youth in India
The decline of overall employability in the low-skill occupation raises a threat to the inclusive approach of the economy as such youth remain economically inactive and thereby raising the NEET proportion
Summary
The youth represent the most potential workforce at the meso (individual and family levels), micro (societal level) and the macro (country level) strata of economic development. The youth with education up to higher secondary dominates the employability in medium-skill occupation and reflects an increase of 1.2% points during the study period. For youth with a technical degree, the study reflects 19.8% points higher unemployment rate as compared to the non-technical counterparts for the year 2017–2018 (see Figure 4).
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