Align skills to reality: Adult Skills Survey 2026 will inform policy

The government’s plan to conduct a nationwide Adult Skills Survey in 2026 marks a critical attempt to align India’s skilling policy with actual workforce capabilities rather than assumed demand. The three-month survey is scheduled to be conducted after the first quarter of 2026, using the comprehensive modular survey framework, and it aims to map skill levels across basic, intermediate, and advanced categories. It should help address identified skill gaps in the workforce. The core objective is clear: To pivot from supply-driven skilling targets towards demand-aligned workforce capability assessment. 

This exercise is timely, given that nearly three-fourths of India’s workforce has only basic schooling, and graduate employability is just around 55 per cent, underscoring a glaring mismatch between workforce readiness and economic aspirations. By 2030, India’s working-age population is expected to reach nearly 69 per cent of the total population, conferring a potential demographic dividend. The latest India Skills Report, produced by Educational Testing Service in collaboration with industry and academic partners, shows some progress: National employability has risen to 56.35 per cent for this year from 46.2 per cent in 2022. Digital fluency, artificial-intelligence (AI) integration, and hybrid work models have driven part of this improvement, with women’s job-readiness surpassing men’s for the first time. India also accounts for 16 per cent of global AI talent, projected to cross over one million professionals by 2027. India has emerged as a global leader in AI skill penetration, with AI increasingly viewed as a core requirement for most digital roles. 

Yet these increments do not obscure the deeper disconnect between what skilling programmes promise and what the economy demands. No comprehensive assessment of adult skills has been conducted recently, leaving policymakers to work with partial evidence at best. Robust skill development is not only central to labour productivity and employability but essential in the context of evolving labour markets, automation, climate action, and digitisation. 

Domestic oversight bodies have also flagged systemic weaknesses. A recent audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General identified execution inefficiencies, poor placement outcomes, and weak monitoring across flagship skilling schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, questioning whether certifications translate into meaningful employment outcomes. Against this backdrop, the Adult Skills Survey, if conducted with methodological rigour, could establish a baseline for workforce quality rather than merely tallying training certificates or enrolments. With granular data, policymakers can target regional imbalances, align curricula with industry demand, and incentivise firms to coinvest in skills. Regular iterations would further allow tracking whether reforms in education, vocational training, and labour markets are actually moving the needle. Ultimately, India’s next chapter of economic growth will be defined by the level of the skilled workforce.