Skill Education: Reinventing Education In the Time Of Pandemic While unemployment remains high among young population during the coronavirus pandemic, joblessness has become a bigger challenge for the educated youth

By Ankit Shyamsukha

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Unsplash

In our highly-populated country, where the increasing rate of youth unemployment is one of the biggest concerns, it's pivotal that we should rethink our education practices and recreate avenues for vocational skill education in order to have sustainable living. No doubt, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's much-ambition National Education Policy is a bold step towards reinventing the possibilities in skill education. The policy puts its prime focus on imparting gainful skills through the formal education so that the students can earn decent income for sustainable livelihood when the way we are working is also changing at a rapid pace.

With the largest youth population in the world, India currently stands at a threshold of demographic divide. While unemployment remains high among young population during the coronavirus pandemic, joblessness has become a bigger challenge for the educated youth. According to a recent study, India's unemployment rate in India averaged 8.70 per cent from 2018 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 23.50 per cent in April of 2020 and a record low of 6.50 per cent in November of 2020. It has been witnessed that the unemployment rate is increasing despite the expansion of school and educational institutes because of the fact that our education system is not skill-based.

If various national and international reports are to be believed, only a small percentage, 5 per cent to 8 per cent of the Indian labor force belonging to the age group of 20-24 years obtained vocational skills through formal means; whereas the percentage of skilled workforce in industrialized countries is quite high as compared to our country. It is between 60 per cent and 96 per cent. Developed nations including the UK, Germany, Australia, Japan, France, and China have been supporting skill education right from the school level on a large scale.

School education should be multi-disciplinary

Mostly schools in India have an academic-centric model and the process of learning is confined to classrooms. Introducing skill training in schools should be a part of an integrated curriculum. Academics should complement the process of skill development, and vice versa. Children can choose from various options such as photography, agriculture, banking and healthcare. Giving them these options at the onset of teenage will give them the leverage of choosing early. This, in turn, will help establish strong foundations for a thriving future on the professional front.

Skill education for first generation learners

The economic gap between the rich and poor is becoming wider every day. And, the best way to reduce the void was making education compulsory for the weaker section of the society too. But the biggest issue with the economically and socially marginalized communities is they can't afford the quality education, which thereby is making the problem only grow. This is also one of the main reasons behind the increase in the dropout rate. The unexpected end to their education is the result of either the money constraints they have or because they don't get adequate support from the rest of the family members. Here, again, skilling can act as a solution to both the issues.

Blended learning and ICT supported learning

Blended learning is an innovative concept that embraces the advantages of both traditional teaching in the classroom and ICT-supported learning including both offline learning and online learning. It has scope for collaborative learning; constructive learning and computer assisted learning (CAI). It has been seen that the courses which we follow are not regularly revised, books are not updated and teachers are not interested in upgrading their skills. As a result students are not well prepared to meet the demands of the modern market and professions. To make their knowledge correlate with the present technological advancement and globalization, ICT supported teaching learning process is the need of the hour.

Ankit Shyamsukha

CEO, ICA Edu Skills & Co-founder, IDCM

News and Trends

From Deal Sourcing to Exits: The AI Advantage in Venture Capital

In India, firms are doubling down on tech-led diligence and proprietary data-driven strategies. As AI adoption deepens, it promises to sharpen competitive edges, even as challenges around infrastructure and talent persist.

News and Trends

Early-Stage Funding Dips, but Optimism Grows in India's Maturing Startup Ecosystem

Only two unicorns emerged in H1 2025, a 33% decline from three unicorns in H1 2024. Does the lack of early-stage funding mean fewer unicorns?

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

News and Trends

Switch Mobility CEO Mahesh Babu Steps Down; Ganesh Mani to Take Charge

According to the company, this step is aimed at optimizing costs while maintaining momentum in its electric vehicle development, particularly in battery-electric buses and light commercial vehicles.

News and Trends

Jumbotail Turns Unicorn Following USD 120 Mn Raise Led by SC Ventures

As part of a strategic expansion, Jumbotail also announced the successful acquisition of Solv India, a B2B commerce and financial services platform incubated by SC Ventures.

News and Trends

AppsForBharat Raises USD 20 Mn in Series C Round to Scale Sri Mandir Devotional Platform

The newly raised capital will be deployed to strengthen and scale temple partnerships in over 20 temple towns across India, including Varanasi, Ayodhya, Ujjain, and Haridwar.