One of the key challenges the country faces is finding jobs for the millions of youth below 25 years of age constituting 50% of the population. Until sometime back, the issue of employability, left primarily to the citizens investing in higher education, was viewed with a sense of responsibility and pride by the government. Today the situation is very different with the government viewing itself as a prime stakeholder in finding a solution for lack of employability of the youth.

In the last few years, several important initiatives have been rolled out in making the youth job ready for the industry. These include the setting up of the National Skills Development Corporation to aid in the skilling process for various sectors, creating the

National Occupation Standards modeled around the UK system for various job roles in different sectors and defining the pathway from vocational to the formal education system. The UGC guidelines to universities include vocational streams as part of the undergraduate programmes, introduction of employability programmes in ITIs and polytechnics, options of vocational subjects in higher secondary education system and the employment linked training programmes of the central and state governments.

Apart from the initiatives of the government, in some industries like IT, corporates have been working closely with academic institutions to align their curriculum and readiness to meet the industry requirements. Some manufacturing companies have adopted ITIs with the view to infuse latest technology and knowhow to make the candidates conversant with real world practices in the industry.

Despite these initiatives, we still have a long way to go, in addressing the twin problems of unemployment and under employment in the country. With over

20 million students enrolled in the higher education system and various reports indicating that 55 to 75% graduates (depending upon the category of education they undergo) are not found employable by the industry, we need urgent measures and policies to bring about a qualitative transformation of the available talent pool. The talent pool in the tertiary education segment is expected to significantly expand in the coming years on account of the goal to increase the Gross National Enrollment Ratio (GNER) from the current 18% to 30% in the next 6 years. Further, with a variety of options available at affordable costs for skilling and several under graduate qualifications, the action plan for making the youth job ready requires more sharper approach with military like precision in implementation.

Given the magnitude of problem, the focus has to be to energise the industry to expand its base through investment leading to employment creation. Availability of right talent pool and the keenness of the industry to invest go hand in hand, provided the policy framework and the investment climate are congenial. With the new government in place, it is expected that a positive environment for investment will be created and the industry would generate a demand for the talent pool.

But is the talent pool being readied relevant for the industry is the first question begged to be asked. The second question is whether the industry?s own demand pull would be adequate to absorb most of the pool that would be created? Hence a three pronged approach is proposed to augment the employability of the talent pool.

The first action proposed is centered around creating differentiated minimum duration of the academic programmes and offering areas of specialisation based on individual capabilities and interests. The questions around quality and readiness for the industry would get partially addressed if Universities were to agree to adopt this approach. Both students as well as faculty would be relieved of the stress to complete the curriculum in the fixed duration with customised options for students. However, resources and infrastructure currently available in the institutions would have to be reviewed and as required, institutions and students should be encouraged to tap into learning and MOOC resources that could be made credit bearing. In addition, universities have to be directed to aggressively embrace one of the many available schemes for equipping the students with relevant skills. The

recent example of Delhi University deciding to partner with NSDC for skills programmes for different sectors is a significant step in this direction.

The second action proposed for augmenting employability of students is centered around institutionalising

internships. The successful example of the German dual model should be studied carefully to integrate internships with the academic process. The apprenticeship programme introduced primarily in vocational institutions should be actively pursued and extended to all undergraduate programmes. In cities like Mumbai and Pune, commerce students interested in working alongside their academic studies manage to find useful jobs and such candidates are found to be more confident and have better clarity about their career goals when they complete their education.

If internships are to be made compulsory for all students, there are several avenues available for students besides tapping the large well established firms. In fact it is the small and medium scale companies and other self employed firms who would be in a position to offer internships in large numbers and students too could benefit by working for them. As found in the US and Europe, students work for free in many cases, during the internships as they get invaluable exposure which shapes their careers and choices for the future.

In India since ?internships? are at a nascent stage and students are not aware about how to tap into these opportunities, there should be a directive from the government to all categories of colleges to support compulsory internship system from the second year onwards and train the faculty coordinators to facilitate this. In the case of engineering students, projects are already part of the academic pre requisites. If accorded the right seriousness, student projects present with an immediate opportunity to build an innovation ecosystem around these institutions with the active engagement of the investors and industrial hubs. Just as National Cadet Corps (NCC) or National Social Service (NSS) system was evolved in the past with a clear focus to instill discipline, patriotism or social awareness amongst the youth by institutionalising the respective models of student engagements, there is a case for drawing up the

National Internship Framework with clear cut guidelines for how these internships could be integrated with the academic system.

The proposal of inclusive internship is being advocated with the belief that when implemented systematically along with skills and hands on experience, it has the potential to create a spiral effect on the enterprise eco system, leading to potential self employment and small enterprise creation opportunities with the energy of the youth being channelised towards productive avenues. This is the third modus operandi proposed for nurturing employability. Even if entrepreneurship and compelling breakthrough ideas for new products/services take time to fall in place, in the initial phase, corporates could be tapped for addressing the gaps in their value chain and

opportunities identified to partner with them or service them.

All of this requires a robust and open mechanism in which industry, government and the educational institutions could come together with the zeal to file new patents, discover new markets or service the existing

customers with drive and imagination. Very few institutions and the industry are actively pursuing these tracks currently, what we need is a committed

drive across the country with the blend of initiatives to unleash the potential of the youth and make the demographic dividend work for India.

The writer is CEO, Global Talent Track, a corporate training

solutions company