With less than five per cent of the total workforce in India having received formal skill training , there is clearly a need for expansion of skill development facilities. It is for this reason that skill development has gained impetus and several initiatives have been undertaken by the Government of India. These major initiatives have provided considerable attention to the demand for skills from specific industries that are expected to lead India’s growth. What has received somewhat less attention is the nature of the demand for jobs that is emerging across the country. As a result, some rather fundamental questions have not received the attention they deserve. By its very nature skill development strategy recognizes a mismatch between the demand for jobs and the skills available with those who need jobs, but what are the underlying causes of this mismatch? Is it, as the strategy seems to suggest, entirely a matter of inadequate education, or is it also a matter of a substantial gap between the location in which the demand for jobs is emerging and the points where skills training is being imparted? Is the kind of skills that are being imparted entirely consistent with the demand for skills that the economy is likely to throw up?
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