In a developing country like India, where an estimated 1.2 crore to 1.6 crore people come into the workforce each year, the need of the hour is a massive spurt in job creation. However, the country’s unemployment rate stood at a 45-year-high of 6.1 per cent in 2017-18, according to the National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO’s) Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS). Unemployment is particularly high among people between 15 and 29 years – in urban India, 18.7% of men and 27.2% of women in this age group are looking for jobs, while in rural India, its 17.4% and 13.6% respectively. This growing unemployment rate is only a one side of the coin. The country also faces a huge challenge, when it comes to preparing graduates who are employable.
Although, India has been performing well in terms of creating capacity by establishing more educational institutions, but the quality of education does not look satisfactory, especially in professional programs, such as, engineering and management. If the industry reports are anything to go by, about 53% of those coming out of India’s higher educational institutions are not employable. The reports also indicate that only 5.4% of India’s workforce has undergone skill training compared to 75% in Germany and 96% in South Korea. Now, it is high time for the country to find a solution for mitigating its employment and employability issues.
Well, the answer to unemployment largely lies in the hands for policy makers. Employability can only be enhanced by collaborating with other public and private sector entities. In this edition of the Higher Education Digest, we have identified ‘25 Must Watch Colleges in India for Campus Placements,’ which are producing brilliant graduates who can contribute greatly to the growth of Indian economy. We believe that our efforts will help the young Indians who are in search of employment opportunities.
Happy Reading.
Dr. Kuldeep Nagi