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Need of skilling the youth of India In recent years, India has come forth as one of the rapidly growing economies across the globe, but at the same time it is quite disheartening to know that the youth of the country is lacking the basic skills required for being employable. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)report revealed that out of five million students who graduate every year in India merely 20 percent of them are employable. Furthermore, 54 percent of the young population in India is not job-ready, as claimed by the India Skills Report 2021. Education and skill should go hand in hand in the present competitive world as the industries require a workforce that is pre-loaded with skills. India has the potential of being the skill capital of the word owing to its largest young population. The country adds 13 million people to its workforce annually, however the Indian youth, in the age-group 19-24 years, that has undergone any formal skill training is below 5 percent only. Thus, India fairly lags behind other nations,in respect of trained workforce. This clearly shows discrepancy between the educational offerings of colleges and universities and the actual demand and requirements of the jobmarket. It is therefore observed that the current education model needs some reformative changes in order to impart skills to the students.In order to address this skill gap, skill development of the Indian youth has become a national need which will lay the foundation of self-reliant nation.Keeping this in mind the New Education Policy 2020 has been launched by the Indian government, which focuses on not only the cognitive development of the students but also on building their character, with holistic and all-round development of the students through inculcating the 21st century skills in them. NEP2020: A roadmap to skill development The aim of the Indian Government towards Skill Development focuses on narrowing the gap between the demand and supply of skilled workforce, the incorporation of new skills among the youth along with skill up-gradation and innovative thinking and also improving the vocational and technical training framework in order to make the young generation job ready. To achieve this the New Education Policy 2020 has adopted a learner-centric approach with increased focus on lifelong, experiential, discussion-based, and analysis-based learning, vocational education and transformation of higher education institutions. Holistic and Multi-disciplinary Learning: The New National Education Policy 2020 lay emphasis on a more holistic view and conceptual understanding, by discarding the traditional and outdated content-heavy and rote-learning method. In order to develop all capacities of human, the policy calls for a multidisciplinary curriculum that includes sciences, arts and humanities, languages, crafts, sports and culture. Rather than following a rigid coursework, the flexibility in choosing the learning trajectories and programmes will encourage the learners towards competence-based learning, further enhancing their core skills The policy also acknowledges soft skills like communication, cooperation, teamwork, and resilience, as some essential 'life skills' that can help students in their career path. In the long run, this type of holistic learning shall be the approach of all undergraduate programmes including the ones in technical, professional and vocational disciplines. Re-Imaging Vocational Education: Vocational education focuses on specific trades and imparting practical skills to the students, which further enhances their employability skills. However, in India still the vocational education program has not been able to achieve its desired prominence. The primary reason for this being, students with vocational subjects faces vertical immobility, as stated by the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) in 2013. Vocational education is limited to only higher secondary students or class VIII dropouts, with no future career paths in higher education. This led to the inferior perception of vocational education with regard to mainstream education leading to a small number of students enrolling in them. Other reasons for less enrollment in vocational courses or trainings is the absence of rich academic content, inefficient infrastructure and inadequate funding. The Twelfth five-year plan (2012-2017) revealed that "less than 5 percent of the workforce in India in the age-group 19-24 years has received formal vocational education ", which is oneof the lowest in the world compared to the USA having 52 percent, Germany with 75 percent and South Korea with the highest i.e., 96 percent of the workforce that trained. This necessitates expanding the coverage and efficiency of vocational education in India, as rightly promoted by the New Education Policy 2020 with regard to its complete re-imagination.

NEP 2020: Breaking the traditional path

The fundamental reform pertaining to curriculum and pedagogy under the New Education policy 2020 is to transform the present-day education system from deeply embedded rote learning culture towards real understanding and learning (NEP framework, the Ministry of Education, India, 2020). Furthermore, the main aim of the policy is to inculcate 21st century skills among the students, focusing not only on cognitive development but also on character building, holistic and all-round development of the students (NEP 2020 document, the Government of India).

In developing countries like India education is one of the most neglected sectors and faces major challenges. To amend this NEP 2020 is upgrading the existing education system from traditional methods of learning of the1980s to the 21st century learning, keeping pace with the advancing technology and to achieve this NEP 2020 has to work at the grass-roots level(Kumar, et.al, 2022).

Survey-based research by Mishra, et.al, (2019) indicated that the present education system emphasizes more on rote-learning of subjects which is the main reason of poor quality of education in India. Therefore, skill development of the youth is necessary in order to compete with the global education system.Malik, (2021) in her research study " National Education Policy 2020: What to Look Forward To" stated that greater association is important in college courses to bridge the gap present between industry and education, keeping this in mind the New Education Policy 2020 focuses on vocational education along with academic subjects.Increasing the enrollment of students across all types of educational institutions is an important goal of NEP 2020 by providing skill- education which is multidisciplinary, in order to generate employment. Therefore, the present education system of the country needs massive changes in it (Kumar,2020).

Addressing the Skill gap and challenges

The study undertaken by Srivastava and Hasan (2015) mentions that the existing training infrastructure of the country is irrelevant to the present need of industries.In India,the annual addition to the workforce is 13 million, with 80 percent of the workforce with no formal vocational training (Sahoo, et.al, 2013).

Consequently, for efficient utilization of a country's demographic dividend, the human resources should be sufficiently provided with employability skills for gaining employment (Rath and Bhagavan,2014).The paper by Majumder, et.al (2017) which tried to estimate the skill gap in the Indian Labour market showed a discrepancy between the demand and supply pattern of workers, with the deficiency of skilled workers and the abundance of unskilled and less skilled workers thus affecting the employability of the huge working population in India. The study also revealed the areas likely to be faced with skill shortages are school pass outs, Graduates with vocational training and technical graduates. Ganesh (2017), studied the gap between skills and employability of engineering graduates from technical institutions and estimated that sixty percent of the eight lakh engineers who graduated, are jobless and 39 percent of employers believe finding quality among the workers is the major constraint faced by them.The future labour market scenario of the youth in any country primarily depends upon their initial experiences of how well they are able to access the labour market, and the skills and ability that they have attained through education and training (ILO, 2019).UNICEF Report (2019) mentioned that at least 47% of the youth in India is not on the appropriate track to achieve the education and skills necessary for employment in 2030. Across the world skill shortage accompanied by the emerging skill gap in the labour market is a major challenge for employability. Furthermore, the uncertainty of the labour market in predicting the job roles and fast changing skills is another matter of concern which aggravates the problem of skills mismatch (Motkuri and Revathi, 2021). Skill development can be considered as a necessary tool for empowering people. The possession of skills along with education, among the people can lead to innovation, technological advancement, development of the nation. To address the problem of insufficient skills and job readiness among the Indian youth, the gap between academia, industry and government should be bridged (Suman, et.al, 2021).

The literature highlights the huge skill gap that exists among the current workforce in the country and the promising provisions of the New Education policy 2020 regarding the transformation of the traditional education system in the country. The present research tries to analyze the skill gap that is present among the students who will enter the workforce in the future, taking into account the variables like awareness among them regarding the New Education Policy and the importance of incorporating skill development into the framework of the current Education system, the current status of skill attainment among the students, financial and technological restraints and the barriers that they face in skill acquisition.

The study was conducted in the Dehradun district of Uttarakhand and for the purpose of this survey-based study different private and public colleges/universities of Dehradun district were chosen according to the availability of students and permission from the higher authorities. The respondents comprised of college and university students who were currently pursuing their graduation or post-graduation studies. Data Collection Data was collected through primary sources using structured questionnaire as well as an online google form.Secondary sources were also used to review the literature available through statistical records, ministry websites, research papers, reports of national and international importance. Structured questionnaire, interview and Google form were the tools used for data collection in this study

Purposive sampling has been used. 

Suitable and appropriate statistical tools were used for interpreting the data which were percentages and frequencies with the help of which tables were formed. For data analysis software- IBM SPSS version 22 was used and further Excel was used for graphical representation of tables through pie charts and bar charts in order to facilitate better understanding of data.

Figure1: Skill related elements of New Education Policy 2020

Data analysis and interpretation

1 Demographic profile of the respondents:

a. Gender-wise distribution of the respondents

The data illustrates that a total number of 305 college students participated in this survey, out of which 157 respondents were male which constitutes 51.5% of the respondents and the remaining 148 respondents were females accounting for 48.5% of the total sample.

b. Age-wise Distribution of the respondents

The majority of the sample was in the age group of 21-24 years comprising of 135 students (44.3% of the sample) followed by 125 students in the age-group of 17-20 years (41%), while the remaining i.e., 45 respondents (14.8%) were of the age-group 25 years and above.

c.  Distribution of the respondents according to their current education level:

The data collected constitutes of the samples size of 305 respondents, majority of students i.e., 182 students (59.7%) were pursuing graduation while 123 students (40.3%) were at the level of post-graduation.

2. Skill Gap Analysis

a. Status of Attainment of Skill Education amongst the respondents

Table 2: Percentage of Skill Attainment by the respondents
Number of students that have done or are doing any type of skill-based course(s) or training(s)	Response	Frequency	Percentage
	Yes	106	34.8
	No	199	65.2
	Total	305	100.0

The data was collected from 305 students who actively participated in the survey. It was evaluated that only 106 students i.e., 34.8% of the respondents have done or are doing any type of skill-based course/training while the lack in skill attainment was resulted by illustrating the further data that 199 students i.e., 65.2% of the sample have not acquired any form of skill-based course or training defining our objective of the existing skill gap. This clearly shows the presence of skill gap among the students further hinders their employability and job prospects in the future and is a matter of concern for the Indian Education system.

b. Cross-tabulation of Current Educational level of the respondents with Skill Attainment level

The cross- tabulation reflects that out of the 182 respondents who are at Graduate Level, only 31.9% of them i.e., 58 graduate students have done or are currently pursuing skill-based course or training while 68.1% of them (124 students) have not done any skill course or training. Hence, the data collected clearly defined the persistence gap of skill training at higher education which is a prominent objective of the new education policy 2020.Whereas at the post graduate level, it is illustrated that only 39% of the students (48 students) have done or are doing any type of skill-based course or training, whereas a greater percentage of 61% of the students (75 students) have not done or are enrolled in any skill-based course or training. This highlights the presence of the skill gap across the students of both Graduation and Post-graduation.

Table 3: Cross-tabulation of Current Education and Skill Attainment level
Current Education Level			Current skill attainment level		Total
			Yes	No
	Graduation	Frequency	58	124	182
		Percentage	31.9%	68.1%	100.0%
	Post-Graduation	Frequency	48	75	123
		Percentage	39.0%	61.0%	100.0%
Total		Frequency	106	199	305
		Percentage	34.8%	65.2%	100.0%

c.Type of Skill Education attained by the respondentsc.Type of Skill Education attained by the respondents

Figure 5 shows that the majority of students have not acquired any type of skill-based education (pertaining to high skill gaps), constituting 57.4% of the sample i.e., 175 students.

1. It can be also observed that amongst the different types of skill education, online courses (from MOOC platforms like SWAYAM, Coursera, Udemy, Unacademy or similar) were enrolled by more students in the sample i.e.,59 students (19.3%).

2. The students gained information after attending workshops, seminars, etc., constitutes 50 students (16.45%)

3. The data further illustrates that 38 students (12.5 %) acknowledged to gain information about skills through their college curriculum in the form of communication, life skills or technical skills.

4. While only 28 students, (9.2%) have done any kind of skill course or training under government skill initiatives while only 19 students (6.2%) have done any internship/ apprenticeship.

5. The data also reveals that vocational training and diploma courses were the least opted amongst the students, accounting for only 10 students (3.3 % of the respondents) and 4 students (1.3 %) respectively. It is also observed that NEP 2020 has majorly focused upon the vocational training which is still a hindrance for students of Uttarakhand.

3.Types of Barriers faced by the respondents while pertaining Skill Acquisition

a. Financial Barriers:

The above data from figure 6 suggests the following financial barriers faced the students at higher educational level which hinders their skill attainment processes.

1. Lack of Financial resources: It is observed that out of the total 305 respondents,89.5% of the respondents (262students) were of the view that lack of financial resources is a major constraint in acquiring skills while only 3% (9 students) denied of having any financial constraint.

2. Cost of the skill-based courses and training programmes: The data also illustrates that 82% of the respondents (250 students) found the cost of skill-based courses and training programmes as a barrier in acquiring skills, while 14.4% (44 students) of the respondents were neutral of the fact that cost is regarded as a barrier. Only3.6% of the students (11 students) did not view cost of the skill- based courses as a barrier in attaining skills.

3. Students lack the tools and equipment required for these courses / trainings: 79.3% of the respondents (242 students) agreed to the fact that students lack the tools and equipment required for skill courses or trainings while only 2.3% (7 students) did not approved this. The remaining 18.4% (56 students) were indifferent of this constraint.

b. Social and Cultural Barriers:

Figure 7 briefly illustrates the data of the following social and cultural kind of barriers faced the respondents:

1. Language and communication barrier: Out of the total of 305 respondents, 55.4% (169 students)viewed language and communication barrier hinder the process of skill acquisition while 30% of them (79 students) had neutral view regarding language and communication barrier. Also,18.7% of the respondents (57 students) denied the fact that there was any barrier caused by it to attain any type of skill.

2. Lack of awareness: 69.5% of the respondents i.e., 212 students believed that lack of awareness and information about skill courses, procedures and methods to attain skill- based training is an obstacle in attaining skills while 15.4 % of the students (47 students) denied being non- aware about skill- based courses. It is also

3. Mobilization barrier: 77 % of the respondents (235students) were of the opinion that students living in remote areas find it difficult to access these skill-based courses or trainings pertaining to this skill gap while only 5.3% of the students denied the same.

c. Other Barriers faced by the students in skill acquisition

Figure 8 evaluates the following other kinds of barriers faced by the respondents in skill attainment:

1.Existence of skills mismatch: Out of the total 305 students who participated in the survey, 62.6% accepted the presence of skills mismatch, i.e., the skills provided by educational institutes differ from the skills needed by industries and corporate sector while only 15.4% (47 students) disagreed to this. The remaining 22% (67students) were indifferent to this view.

2. Lack of skilled trainers: 62.9% of the respondents (192 students) considered lack of availability of skilled trainers and educators, an obstacle in skill attainment, whereas only 18.4% of the respondents (57 students) were of different view.

3. Inefficient infrastructure: The constraint of inefficient current infrastructure which is subjected to lower capacity to cater to the skill needs of all the students was also acknowledged as a barrier by 73.1% of the respondents i.e., 223 students while only 4.3% (13 students) denied the same. This highlights that the current infrastructure facilities, for better skill development of the students can enhance their skill accessibility.

  

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