Vocational Education and Training in India: Prospects and Challenges from an Outside Perspective

With high economic growing rates and an evident shortage of skilled workers, the modernisation of formal vocational education and training (VET) in India increasingly came into focus. Skill development has been on top of the agenda of the Indian government for more than a decade, resulting in state policies and related schemes to upgrade and develop a system struggling with quantitative and qualitative issues. This article gives an overview of the main pillars of the Indian VET system and addresses policies and initiatives to restructure and upgrade formal VET in India. Finally, the main challenges as well as potential for a further development of the sector are highlighted from different systemic perspectives.