Statsguru: Top 7 countries account for nearly 70% of vocational students

India had "the lowest gender parity index", with women accounting for only 10 per cent of vocational students: Study

Gender disparities may affect India’s ability to meet a rising global need for skilled labour. India’s global share of students gaining technical and vocational education has increased, but remains significantly lower than countries such as China, Indonesia and Mexico, shows cross-country data.
 

This is largely because India has lower female participation in vocational training than the other top seven countries in terms of students enrolled in such programmes (charts 1, 2).

India had “the lowest gender parity index”, with women accounting for only 10 per cent of vocational students, according to a July 2023 joint study titled “Building Better Formal TVET Systems: Principles and Practice in Low- and Middle-Income Countries” by the World Bank, the International Labour Organization and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Also Read: Vocational education must be integrated into higher education institutes

Over 100 million additional people were required in India for various sectors between 2017 and 22, according to the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship estimates. Building construction and real estate was the top sector, needing 31

million more people, while agriculture was at the bottom (chart 3).

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh had incremental requirements for 10 million skilled personnel each between 2013 and 22, according to the ministry estimates (chart 4).

The government seems to be aware of the problem. It allocated over ~3,500 crore to the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, more than triple the number for 2015-16 (chart 5).



Key schemes include the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, which is said to have trained 13.7 million people. The National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme has 2.1 million enrolments and the Jan Shikshan Sansthan numbers for trained personnel are at 700,000.

Also Read: Vocational training over higher education? Prospects are brighter: Report
 

But increasing female participation would be key. The proportion of female vocational pupils has come down over the years. It was nearly 40 per cent in 1971 (chart 6).



Many low- and middle-income countries spend less than required on such programmes (0.2 per cent of gross domestic product, compared to 0.46 per cent in high-income countries), according to the study cited above. India has the opportunity to bridge the gap, with the right policies.