BRIDGING THE SKILLS GAP THROUGH VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

India has the largest pool of human resources in the world. Yet it faces this ironical situation where on one hand, the unemployment rate amongst the youth population is on the rise, on the other hand, the industry is facing an acute shortage of skilled workers. This indicates a mismatch between the current output of our education system and the requirements of the industry. Our education system is churning out graduates having paper qualifications but no employable qualities or skills. The paper analyses the current scenario of unemployment in the country with respect to the academic outcome of our education institutes. It identifies the skills supply gaps with respect to the demands of the industry. It further explores the significance of vocational education to improve the employability skills of the youth. The paper concludes with emphasis on the need to reform the current vocational education system to bridge the skills gap in the Indian youth and suggests certain reforms in vocational education to plug this gap.