According to a recent research, about 50% of India’s young unorganized workers and those outside of it are eager to upskill and provide suggestions to close the country’s employment gap.According to the research, adding 100 million individuals to the labor force could boost India’s GDP by 20% and push its economy closer to $4 trillion.
The large pool of untrained, low- and moderately skilled workers in India can be trained and employed, according to a research by the investment company Omidyar Network India (ONI) titled “The Next Frontiers: Skilling and Employability Solutions for the Next Half Billion.” The project’s research partner was Redseer.
Nearly 50% of young Indian employees are very eager to acquire new skills in order to improve their career possibilities, including:
Moderately competent blue-collar employees under the age of 30 are known as skilled aspirers.
Tenacious Strivers, who are employed in low-skilled positions comparable to Skilled Aspirers, and home-based entrepreneurs, who are under 30 years old and already have or want to establish a home-based firm, both showed a high level of upskilling readiness.
According to the research, businesses have a huge chance to provide a market of 100 million young employees with skill-upgrading options.
Some of the cohorts that showed a strong readiness to pay also showed a desire to acquire new skills.
73% of skilled aspirants and 59% of home-based business owners are very eager to pay to acquire new skills that would enable them to get employment that provide higher income, more stability, and growth chances.
Men in the Skilled Aspirers persona (45%) are keen to start their own business, whilst women (33%) are more likely to advance in their existing positions.
These cohorts represent a substantial reservoir of untapped potential where entrepreneurs in India might enhance employability and have a significant influence on the NHB’s lives.
Entrepreneurs have a chance to provide solutions worth around Rs 1.5 to 2 billion by bridging the gap between talents and the desire to acquire and pay for those skills.
The fundamental company management abilities, in addition to digital marketing, communication, and improved vocational skills, are the talents for which entrepreneurs may design solutions.
Through skill-building efforts, governments and nonprofits can close the employability-skills gap for 130 million people:
The paper demonstrates that although certain cohorts have a high want to learn, they have a relatively low willingness to pay for educational opportunities, eliminating them from the target pool for business owners and profit-based options.
For these groups, the government may help close the skill-to-pay gap by supporting efforts like subsidised skill development programs, bolstering initiatives like apprenticeship programs, and supporting initiatives like capital assistance programs.
In particular for women who want to join the workforce, policy reforms on paid childcare and maternity leave laws may play a critical role in bringing and retaining workers in the fold of employability.
The paper highlights six important conclusions:
1. Greater attention to blue- and grey-collar skill development and employability will pay off most
2. Solutions would need a granular approach due to the variety of the Indian workforce.
3. There is a sizable market for employability help and skill development solutions.
4. The government and charity organizations have the chance to help those who can’t afford to lose their jobs or don’t have the money to invest in skill development.
5. Support for employment and skills in six crucial areas will have a disproportionate effect.
6. For implementation to be effective, awareness-raising, brief program length, content contextualization, and financial help are essential.
“Our goal is to enable collaborative solutions to address skill gaps and improve the state of employability, especially for the underserved,” said Siddharth Nautiyal, partner at Omidyar Network India. We also anticipate that the cohorts mentioned in the research will help us comprehend the different sectors and their needs better.
Methodology:
A main sample survey of 5,000 respondents from several cohorts, with intersections of gender, income, and place, is included in the study. Additionally, it contains 35 employer interviews, 100 in-depth qualitative interviews with employees, and more than 20 talks with experts and business owners.
