Breaking the Cycle of Vulnerability: Education, Skills and Employability for Indian Youth

10 October 2019
ABOUT THIS Report

This report, conducted in cooperation with UNICEF, hones in on the school-to-work transition for vulnerable youth in India. Themes include education and employment outcomes, labor market trends and youth aspirations, programs to improve youth employability, and gaps that must be addressed with public and private sector engagement.

The protagonists of India’s story are its youth. Representing over a quarter of the country’s population, young people between the ages of 15 to 29 are part of a demographic dividend.

How India’s demographic advantage unfolds depends on the nation’s ability to realize the aspirations of its youth, harness their productive potential, and help them build successful economic trajectories.

Yet, economic trajectories are not just built on aspirations and potential, but also on opportunity. Many of India’s youth face constraints on opportunity as a result of differences in income, caste, tribe, gender, special needs and religion. These inequities in opportunity from one’s childhood manifest in the inequality of outcomes in education and in the world of work.

This report, conducted in cooperation with UNICEF, hones in on the school-to-work transition for vulnerable youth in India. Themes include education and employment outcomes, labor market trends and youth aspirations, programs to improve youth employability, and gaps that must be addressed with public and private sector engagement. JustJobs Network’s analysis of primary data, secondary literature, government and international data sources, and stakeholder and youth insights form the basis for the report’s findings and recommendations.