The government’s flagship skilling scheme has recorded placements of just 7 per cent of the candidates it has trained, pointing to a sharp gap between training and employment outcomes, showed the data from the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) scheme dashboard.
The dashboard recorded 200,224 placements among the 2.85 million trained candidates as on August 28.
The PMKVY, launched in 2015, is the government’s skill-certification scheme aimed at providing industry-relevant training to young people and improving their employability.
The scheme has since gone through multiple iterations and is now part of the Skill India Programme, which has an approved outlay of ~8,800 crore for 2022-23 to 2025-26. Of this, ~6,000 crore has been allocated to PMKVY 4.0.
The dashboard’s overall lifecycle data at sector level also recorded 683,000 dropouts, making their number more than three times that of the people placed. Of the 3.54 million candidates enrolled, over 19 per cent were recorded as dropouts.
The dashboard shows 2.04 million had been assessed and 1.95 million certified.
An analysis of the sectorwise data showed that placement outcomes varied considerably across sectors. Of the top sectors by enrolment, telecom had the highest placement rate. In it, 17.5 per cent of the trained candidates were placed, followed by handicrafts at 14.4 per cent, and apparel at 13.3 per cent.
At the same time, just 1.1 per cent of the candidates trained in management were recorded as “placed”, while the figure was 3.4 per cent for automotive and 3.8 per cent for media and entertainment.
The placement data covers the scheme’s different iterations, with the government tracking placements under the Short-Term Training component of PMKVY 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. Placement tracking was delinked from PMKVY 4.0, under which the government instead tracks candidates for a year after certification to monitor their career progression, including whether they are employed, or pursuing further education or training. The government has said the change was intended to shift the focus from placement as the sole measure of a training programme’s outcome, particularly as candidates may move into self-employment, further education, or other forms of skilling after certification.
Under PMKVY 4.0, the National Skill Development Corporation is responsible for post-certification tracking, with candidate outcomes monitored through calls and digital tools.
The PMKVY has three main components — Short-Term Training (STT), under which candidates undergo training in new skills; Special Projects (SP), which provide customised training for specific groups or sectors; and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), which assesses and certifies workers who already possess skills acquired through informal or on-the-job experience.
