Less than 15% of youth skilled under government scheme placed
NEW DELHI: As unemployment continues to be a concern, government data shows that over 1.6 crore youth across India have been trained under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) since 2015, though only about 24.3 lakh secured job placements – less than 15% of the total youth trained.In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, skill development minister Jayant Chaudhary said that while placement tracking was done under the first three phases of PMKVY (2015-2022), the current phase (PMKVY 4.0) focuses more on empowering candidates to pursue varied career paths and provides orientation support through platforms like Skill India Digital Hub. The platform connects trained individuals with potential employers and apprenticeship opportunities, with Rozgar Melas and National Apprenticeship Melas providing additional placement support. However, employment outcomes remain modest. Of the 56.89 lakh certified candidates in Short-Term Training (STT) between 2015 and 2022, only 24.3 lakh were reported placed – around 43%. Analysts say the low employment ratio reflects a continued gap between training curricula and industry requirements. The government acknowledged the need to align skilling with local demand and industry trends and has started district-level skill gap studies and state-specific training programmes. To support self-employment, youth are being linked with financial schemes such as PM Mudra Yojana (Rs 35.13 lakh crore sanctioned), PM Vishwakarma (Rs 3,920 crore), and DAY-NULM (Rs 8,775 crore to nearly 9.8 lakh urban poor). Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh lead in both training enrolment and loan assistance. Efforts to improve quality outcomes include training through accredited centres, on-the-job training, the National Credit Framework, and regular third-party evaluations. A third-party assessment of PMKVY 4.0 is currently underway to guide policy corrections.
