New Delhi: The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has partnered with Mumbai-based data intelligence company Axis My India to assess the gap between demand and supply of skills in India and evaluate the impact of current skill development programmes. The first report is expected in three months.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the two earlier this week. According to officials at NSDC, under this collaboration, Axis My India will conduct pan-India surveys to strategically map skill demand and supply across India. “It is a non-financial binding. Axis My India will conduct surveys that will cover students from both schools and higher education institutions, employers and employed youth,” a senior official at the corporation, who wished not to be named, told ThePrint.
“It will be a data-driven approach to understand the gaps in key skilling initiatives, measure their outcomes, and enhance beneficiary participation rates, particularly in underserved regions,” the official added.
The Economic Survey 2024 highlighted that only 51 percent of India’s youth are considered employable, underscoring a significant skill gap.
The collaboration was announced months after a World Bank report underscored the need for India to take a coordinated approach in developing and rebranding vocational skills, while aligning education and training with the demands of the job market.
The report, titled ‘Jobs at Your Doorstep’ and released in November last year, emphasised that skill development bodies such as the NSDC must partner with the private sector, civil society, and multilateral organisations to address the country’s employment and skills gap.
The NSDC, a Public Private Partnership (PPP) enterprise working under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, was set up to catalyse the skilling ecosystem for private sector participation in the country.
Axis My India is well-known for conducting exit polls. However, some of its recent predictions, including its forecast for the 2024 general elections, proved to be inaccurate. The poll predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would secure between 322 and 340 seats, and that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would win 400 seats. In reality, the BJP fell short of a simple majority, with the NDA finishing at 293 seats.
How the collaboration will work
According to the NSDC official quoted above, the partnership will focus on tracking participation, engagement and outcomes of skill development programmes.
“Baseline surveys will gather data on current programmes, beneficiary involvement and industry needs, serving as a reference for future evaluations. Joint efforts will also aim to design frameworks to assess the effectiveness and long-term impact of training initiatives,” the official said.
“These surveys will help identify the skill sets needed by specific sectors, regions, and industries, enabling the design of training programmes that align with market demands,” the official explained. “For instance, in Ludhiana, the textile industry requires skilled professionals, and through these surveys, we can gain a clearer understanding of the precise workforce requirements in that sector.”
Asked why Axis My India was chosen for the task, the official said, “They have research expertise that will help in supporting the NSDC’s mission of fostering industry-driven skill development initiatives that align training programmes with market needs.”
Speaking to ThePrint, Pradeep Gupta, chairman-cum-managing director, Axis My India, said that the company has been doing research work since 1998. “Elections in India are very popular which is why people resonate with Axis My India with elections and exit polls. However, we have been doing research work since 1998, and election-related work started in 2013 only. Our clients include P&G, Mahindra, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among others. We do lots of social research as well.”
He explained that as part of the collaboration, the NSDC aims to understand both the aspirations of the youth and the requirements of industries.
“We have the capacity to survey up to 30,000 people face-to-face in a day,” Gupta said. “The NSDC wants to gain insights into the aspirations and talents of young people, and, in parallel, we will be surveying corporations to assess their skill requirements. Additionally, the NSDC seeks to identify gaps and evaluate the effectiveness of their ongoing skilling programmes. We have just signed the MoU, and will soon finalise the modalities for this initiative.”
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
Also Read: Nine-year-old Ashoka University is asking the most important question. Who am I?