Beyond credentials: education, skill formation and the unequal architecture of work in India

Abstract The lack of qualified labour and the difficulty of aligning educational programmes with changing labour-market requirements are often identified as central challenges of skill development in India. However, these concerns represent only part of the broader challenge. The key question is whether the education and skill-development system enable students to translate academic learning, occupational experience and credentials into practical competencies, career progression and decent employment. This paper draws on the NITI Aayog initiative Education and Skills Required for the Future, undertaken by the Institute for Human Development (IHD), and combines secondary data from official sources on education, higher education, GDP, sectoral value added and employment with institutional key informant interviews and 51 focus group discussions involving 514 higher-secondary students. It also considers historical and contemporary evidence within the institutional planning horizons of 2030, 2035 and 2047. The evidence suggests a persistent structural imbalance. The Indian economy has become increasingly service-oriented. But employment stays heavily concentrated in agriculture and other relatively low-wage activities with limited opportunities for occupational progression. At the same time, educational participation has risen without ensuring equal access to digital resources, experiential learning, career guidance, certified vocational training and sustained work experience. The student narratives suggests that it is not about wanting to get ahead, it is about how few ways there are in the institutions to turn that wanting into real education and jobs. The paper draws on human capital theory, the capability approach, democratic education, the dignity of labour and recognition to argue for a shift away from the measure of training inputs and placements to the measure of educational and professional trajectories. The key focus areas in the short term should be improvement in career guidance, digital access and practical skills. Reforms in the medium term should include integration of vocational and tertiary education pathways. While the long-term strategies should include strengthening of ITIs, polytechnics, higher technical pathways and lifelong learning. The main argument is that the development of skills generates social and economic value that is meaningful when the competencies acquired are recognised through occupational mobility, decent work and the real freedom to choose and pursue career paths.