Over 50% of graduates & 44% of postgraduates employed in low-skill jobs

Mumbai, Jan 12: India’s youth challenge today is not access to education, but employability. The Economic Survey 2024–25 reveals that over 50% of graduates and 44% of postgraduates are employed in low-skill jobs, highlighting a persistent mismatch between academic qualifications and industry-ready skills.

Experts believe work-integrated learning is the most effective solution. Degree Apprenticeships allow young people to earn while they learn, gain real workplace exposure, and build practical, job-relevant skills aligned with the needs of employers.

Talking to Bizz Buzz, Dr Nipun Sharma, CEO, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship says, “The current gap seems to be more structural, between what the education system produces and what the labour market actually needs. At the same time, with multiple policy interventions, this could improve significantly in the coming years.”

A NASSCOM-McKinsey assessment found that only 45-50% of Indian graduates are employable for industry roles without significant retraining. While industries have rapidly adopted digital tools, automation, and new workflows, curricula updates often lag by several years, creating a persistent readiness gap.

The mismatch isn’t about intelligence or effort. It’s structural. Students graduate with knowledge designed for economies that no longer exist, then wonder why employers demand retraining. That’s not their failure, it’s a failure of education systems that haven’t kept pace with the speed of change.

Avinav Nigam, Founder and CEO at TERN Group says, “The feedback loop from workplace skills to education curricula isn’t fast enough - sometimes taking decades - especially on competencies, given the rapid rate of change in technology/AI and process advancements changing jobs.”

Degree Apprenticeships (such as Germany’s successful “Ausbildung” or apprenticeship approach to education meeting workforce) can link structured work experience with formal learning, creating capability instead of just credentials. OECD data shows that apprenticeship graduates have 20–30% higher employment and retention rates compared to those from purely academic routes.