NITI Aayog says 8.7 crore Indians aged 15-29 are outside education, jobs or training, and calls for affordable, flexible and lifelong skilling
New Delhi: An estimated 8.7 crore Indians aged 15 to 29 are outside education, employment or training, according to a NITI Aayog report that identifies gaps in the transition from education to work and calls for changes to India’s skilling system.
The figure, based on the 78th round of the National Sample Survey conducted in 2021, appears in the report titled Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat@2047. NITI Aayog defines this group as NEET youth — those not engaged in education, employment or training, including the unemployed. The estimate represents about 11 per cent of the relevant population covered by the report and excludes those actively seeking jobs. Nearly 88 per cent of these young people are engaged in domestic duties.
Five Segments of the Workforce
The report divides India’s workforce and learners into five segments — those in schooling, tertiary education, formal and informal work, NEET youth, and women — covering around 60 crore citizens. It treats skilling as a lifelong process rather than an intervention that begins after formal education.
“NEET youth are constrained by the absence of income and the sunk cost of prior education. Students often cannot layer paid skilling onto existing financial commitments,” the report states. Young people from low-income households already face college fees and private tuition costs.
Paying for additional training alongside a conventional degree can be difficult. Many therefore take whatever formal job or income source becomes available after graduation, even if it is low-paying. Others struggle to enter the workforce and join the NEET category.
The Aayog says NEET youth and women need affordable or subsidised training, along with financial support where cost remains a barrier. Across the five segments, the ability to combine learning with earning remains central. For the existing workforce and NEET youth, the report identifies mid-career reskilling, self-employment pathways and training linked to local demand and emerging sectors as key areas.
Women Face Steeper Barriers
Women form a cross-cutting segment. Only 3 per cent hold formal jobs, while 71 per cent work in informal employment or fall within the NEET group. Their training preferences reflect practical constraints: 68 per cent favour part-time courses and 30 per cent prefer short-duration programmes. Caregiving responsibilities, household duties, safety concerns and limited mobility can further restrict access. Training centres located even a few kilometres away can become difficult to access.
Education-Employment Mismatch
The report links these participation gaps to a wider mismatch between formal education and employment outcomes. Only 8.25 per cent of graduates work in roles aligned with their qualifications, according to data cited from the Economic Survey 2024-25.
Limited exposure to practical learning and industry-aligned training continues to affect employability even among those with formal qualifications. Educated unemployment also remains high: 13 per cent of all graduates and 20.4 per cent of female graduates are unemployed.
More than 7.67 crore people have received training through various programmes since 2014-15. The Union Budget for 2025-26 allocated ₹34,000 crore towards skilling-related expenditure across Central ministries. The report, however, says higher training numbers alone will not address problems of cost, relevance and re-entry.
Newer labour market data indicate that the challenge persists. The Periodic Labour Force Survey for calendar year 2025 estimated that 25 per cent of Indians aged 15 to 29 were not in employment, education or training. Only about 5 per cent of this age group reported having received or currently receiving formal vocational or technical training.
Youth unemployment among those aged 15 to 29 stood at 9.9 per cent in 2025, down modestly from 10.3 per cent the previous year, but still several times higher than the overall unemployment rate of 3.1 per cent for people aged 15 and above.
International comparisons also point to a gender gap. Earlier analysis by the International Labour Organization found that nearly half of young women, or 48.4 per cent, were outside employment, education or training in 2022, compared with 9.8 per cent of young men.
Proposed Reforms
NITI Aayog has proposed five core reforms and four system enablers to create a more integrated and flexible skilling system. The reforms include early skill education in schools, public-private partnerships in technical and higher education, industry-backed programmes linked to outcomes, wider use of apprenticeships and improved guidance for skilling choices.
In schools, the report recommends introducing General Employability and Entrepreneurship Skills from Class 6 to Class 12. Structured vocational pathways, called Kaushal Tracks, would begin from Class 9. They would allow students to specialise in areas linked to local and national demand.
The report also recommends giving vocational subjects equal weightage in the Class 10 and 12 board examinations. State boards would accept the revised framework for certification.
Currently, fewer than one in 12 secondary schools offer vocational subjects. This is well below the National Education Policy 2020 target of 50% exposure by 2025 and full coverage by 2030.
For tertiary education, the Aayog calls for a shift from generic degrees towards applied, industry-aligned specialisations. It recommends apprenticeship-embedded degree and diploma programmes, work-integrated learning models and greater industry participation through public-private partnerships.
A State Apprenticeship Platform would bring opportunities onto a common platform and make them more accessible to students and employers. Incentives for micro, small and medium enterprises would help expand apprenticeship seats.
Financing should shift towards outcome-based models, the report says. Support could be linked to verified placements, wage gains or employee retention. Tools such as skill vouchers, placement-linked loans and pay-for-results models, including Skill Impact Bonds, could reduce financial risks for learners and improve accountability.
A Digital Skills Passport, or Digital Lifelong Learning Account, would maintain verified records of qualifications, training and work experience. It would also allow these credentials to be recognised across education and employment. Operationalising the National Credit Framework would support credit accumulation and transfer between formal education, skilling and workplace learning.
The report also recommends skills-first hiring. Public sector undertakings and large employers could pilot recruitment based on skills, ITI or apprenticeship credentials, and work experience rather than degrees alone.
Employers should remove degree requirements from job advertisements where they are not legally necessary. Shared skills infrastructure, mapped through platforms such as PM Gati Shakti and the Skill India Digital Hub, would also help make better use of existing training facilities.
States to Drive Implementation
NITI Aayog says skilling pathways must respond to regional labour-market needs while following a common national framework. Emerging sectors, including green industries and electric vehicles, will require targeted training. Workers in declining occupations will also need opportunities to reskill. The report highlights self-employment pathways for NEET youth and women who face barriers to formal employment.
The report says these changes are needed to support the Viksit Bharat 2047 goal. It proposes moving away from a system that treats education, training and employment as separate stages. Instead, individuals should be able to move between education, training and work through multiple entry, exit and re-entry points.
NITI Aayog notes that the Integrated Scheme in Skilling Architecture, proposed in the Union Budget 2026-27, could provide a framework for better coordination. The scheme includes an initial allocation for the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Its implementation will involve Central ministries, State governments, industry, training providers and academic institutions.
The 8.7-crore estimate is based on 2021 data. The report uses it to highlight the financial, logistical and social barriers that keep young people outside education, employment and training. It also calls for closer alignment between education, skilling and labour-market demand.
