India’s labour market challenges: Employability of young workforce from the perspective of supply and demand

India has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, and the highest working-age population. The country has a particular demand for skilled labourers, especially at the semi-skilled level, in various sectors. However, many young people find it challenging to acquire the skills employers demand. To approach the issue of youth employability, it is essential to distinguish two sides of the question. On the one hand, the demand side of the labour market, and, on the other, the supply side of the workforce. It is significant that, in quantitative terms, the vocational education and training (VET) system does not yet play a decisive role here. To understand whether the VET system can solve the problem of high youth unemployment, the concept of ‘employability’ is introduced. A critical analysis of the VET system in terms of the concept of employability follows. Based on the analysis, this paper concludes that the VET system in India requires reform and proposes possible policy interventions to address this.