We are living in a world where going to work every morning feels like a chore for far too many. Employee dissatisfaction is more than a personal problem; it’s a global economic concern. Based on Gallup's recent State of the Global Workplace Report (2025), only 23% of global employees are reportedly engaged in what they do. The other majority suffer some level of disengagement, burnout, or indifference, conditions that the Gallup estimates cost the world economy trillions of dollars each year.

Where individuals are stuck in work they despise, their productivity declines. In America, workers who were not engaged were estimated to cost the nation around $1.9 trillion in lost productivity in the year 2024 alone. This fact serves to underscore the profound misalignment between personal passion and career choice.

India's Employment Paradox

The India Skills Report 2025 informs us that over 3 million graduates get placements each year, but only half of them are deemed employable as per industry standards. The youth unemployment rate (20–24 years) is estimated at a staggering 44.5% as per the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), underlining the sheer necessity for meaningful education and skill matching.

Although the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) sets youth unemployment rates at a lower 10–11% for the 15–29 age category, the majority of economists and labour experts argue that these mask underemployment and low-waged, informal, largely unskilled work with no career development opportunities.

The Untapped Potential of India's Youth

India's population profile presents a historic chance. The country is set to change with 27.3% of its population (approximately 37 crore), aged between 15 and 29 years (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, 2024). This potential can be unleashed by a transition from rote learning to skills-based higher education.

The Role of Skills-Based Learning

Skills education, vocational training, and workplace experiences provide teenagers with the opportunity to find their strengths, talents, and interests early. Through work-integrated projects, apprenticeships, and internships driven by industry, students gain not only technical skills but also an understanding of how their strengths align with industry needs.

Students in work-integrated programs are encouraged to experiment and innovate new ideas in real-world settings, which fosters confidence, adaptability, and critical thinking, soft-skills- abilities required to excel in today's risky employment climate. Skill-centric learning is witnessing a major boost in the Indian education ecosystem due to the implementation of National Educational Policy (NEP2020) which emphasizes hands-on-learning.

Teachers as Agents of Change

Teachers have an important role to play in this transformation. From the very early years of schooling, teachers are not just information passers but facilitators who can help students in connecting learning with what they are interested in. Through developing curiosity and promoting exploration, they help students dream about careers that are both financially viable and personally rewarding.

Progress and Remaining Gaps

Initiatives like the Skill India Mission and the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) have traveled a long way, having skilled millions and achieving placement rates of around 70% for certain programs. However, the task is massive. An astonishing 80% of the Indian workforce continues to work in the informal economy with no protection of any job, and skills shortages continue to dominate in key sectors such as IT, manufacturing, and health.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) cautions that if skilling and reskilling are not prioritized, automation and technological shifts may render millions more unemployed or underemployed in the next decade. Hence, it is crucial for the education sector to leverage frameworks like Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) etc. to enable individuals to formally validate their skills, bridge learning gaps and achieve their academic and professional goals.

Towards Purposeful Education

For India's youth to build lives of substance, not just livelihoods, education must be holistic, experiential, and aligned with the demands of the new economy and AI revolution. This means creating systems where discovering one's passion is as important as discovering a career, and where skills training is not an afterthought but the beginning.

If guided with the right direction, opportunity, and attitude, today's youth in India can convert the country's demographic dividend into a tool of innovation, inclusivity, and sustainable growth, strengthening the foundation of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

(The author is Co-Founder and Pro-Chancellor, Medhavi Skills University (MSU), Advisor for Government Engagements at the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), New Delhi)