World Youth Skills Day: When a young Indian walks across the stage for convocation, he or she has a degree in hand and dreams in their eyes. Assuming that the hardest part is over- four years of relentless study, tuition loans, late-night study marathons- the candidate aspires to a prosperous future. However, the candidate finds himself back in his hometown jobless, disillusioned, and preparing for another competitive exam. It is not a single story.
Over 3 million graduates enter India’s job market annually, yet only half of them are deemed employable. In simple words, thousands armed with degrees lacking skills are stuck in limbo, watching job offers slip through their fingers.
An Endless Cycle of Entrance Exams, Not Jobs
Only 54.8% of Indian graduates are considered employable, and the Graduate Skill Index 2025 from Metti puts employability at 42.6%, marking a drop from previous years. Recent data from CMIE is even worse as it states that youth unemployment is staggeringly high, despite many of them holding graduates or even postgraduate degrees. What is terrifying is that it’s a reality that affects millions of middle-class families in India who are pushing their children into endless cycles of entrance exams
Artificial intelligence, green transition, and growing social complexity are transforming how we learn, work, and participate in society. These skills report employability rates upwards of 46% often with 4 to 5X salary premiums. To sustain in these changing dynamics, young people need more technical skills alone. They need a balanced set of competencies that combines technical, digital, AI, and civic skills that technology cannot replace.
The Soft Skill Deficit
Employers don’t just want hard skills; they want professionals who can think critically, communicate effectively, and adapt. As the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 promises vocational training at all levels of education and upskills the youth, implementation remains uneven.
Today, India needs degrees with direction, curriculum reforms, soft skill development from school level, and mandatory internships with skill-based certifications. Mr. Vikas Shukla, founder and CEO of VONE India and co-founder of Orchid University, rightly points out that “to unlock the true potential of its youth, India must move from a system of pure navigation to one of clear direction—transforming degrees through agile curriculum reforms, mandatory internships, and skill-based certifications that bridge the gap between classroom theory and real-world impact.”
India finds itself at an important juncture in time on this World Youth Skills Day. Either we continue to waste the most productive years of our youth in the tedious and inward-looking process of coaching centers and entrance tests, or we provide them the platform that they deserve. In order to leverage our demographic advantage into an economic one, a mindset change is required from valuing only degrees to truly investing in capabilities. Through replacing the repetitive cycle of examinations with the ecosystem of training, internships, and adaptive skills, not only will we solve the problem of unemployment, but we will finally provide an entire generation of dreamers with direction, dignity, and the means to create the future that was promised to them.