Why participation in formal vocational education and training is low in India

Abstract

While there is a recent fanfare around formal Vocational Education and Training (VET) in India, we try to understand the feasibility of investment in VET in India. This question is particularly interesting because of the 'failure' of VET projects across the World two decades back. Given this background, we need to understand the relevance of formal VET in Indian context today. We have provided a detailed landscape of VET in India. We tried to understand industry demand for VET. We also looked at the labor market outcome particularly, unemployment and wage return to VET. We further explored the impact of growth of higher technical education on VET. Finally, we looked at the social background and participation in VET. We conclude that whereas the investment in VET should be encouraged, there are many areas within VET which require differential treatments. Also, based on evidence, we have recommended various institutional linkages associated with VET which is to be taken care of.