India Boosts Skilling with Industry-Government Collaboration
The Government of India, in partnership with leading industry bodies and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), has intensified efforts to build a more structured framework for collaboration on advanced skilling and the development of Centres of Excellence across the country. This push, led by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), is aimed at aligning training ecosystems with rapid technological change, improving employability, and creating a network of industry-linked institutions that can serve as national hubs for high-end skills and innovation.[1]
High-level industry–government interaction in Mumbai
A key step in this agenda was a high-level industry interaction on “Fostering Industry–Government Collaboration for Skilling Talent” held in Mumbai, organised jointly by MSDE and CII. The interaction was chaired by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Minister of State for Education, Shri Jayant Chaudhary, and brought together senior leaders from sectors including education, health, hospitality, banking and manufacturing.[1]
The consultations focused on how structured collaboration between government and industry can address persistent skill gaps, modernise training institutions and strengthen linkages between education and employment. Participants examined ways to deepen industry participation in curriculum design, apprenticeships, placement processes and the governance of skilling institutions, particularly Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and proposed Centres of Excellence (CoEs).[1]
According to the ministry, the interaction was designed as a platform for candid dialogue on the reforms needed to make India’s skilling system responsive to emerging technologies, evolving workplace models and sector-specific competency requirements. The session also reviewed implementation priorities under recently approved schemes that seek to transform ITIs and build a coherent national framework for advanced skilling.[1]
Recognising the scale of the skilling challenge
In his address, Shri Jayant Chaudhary underlined that India is at a critical juncture where rapid technological change, new forms of work and demographic shifts are reshaping skill requirements across sectors. He pointed out that the country continues to face a paradoxical situation in which many employers report difficulty in finding job-ready candidates, even as a large youth population is entering the labour market each year.[1]
The minister emphasised that this persistent mismatch between industry demand and available skills highlights the need for deeper and more structured collaboration between government and industry. The objective, he stated, is to move beyond ad hoc partnerships towards institutionalised mechanisms that allow continuous feedback, joint planning and shared accountability for outcomes in the skilling ecosystem.[1]
Senior officials from MSDE also underscored the widening disconnect between the competencies industry requires and those typically available among job seekers. Economic Advisor Smt. Archana Mayaram, while setting the context for the roundtable, noted that employers increasingly struggle to find candidates equipped with both technical and transversal skills, especially in fast-changing sectors driven by digital technologies and automation.[1]
Centres of Excellence as anchors for advanced skilling
A central theme of the discussion was the Government’s plan to develop a coherent national framework for Centres of Excellence in skilling. The minister explained that the proposed CoEs are envisaged as anchor institutions for high-end skilling, trainer development and curriculum innovation, closely aligned with current and emerging industry needs.[1]
These Centres of Excellence are expected to perform multiple functions. They will host advanced laboratories and technology-enabled training infrastructure, provide exposure to cutting-edge tools and processes, and serve as hubs from which nearby institutions can benefit through a hub-and-spoke model. They are also expected to play a role in adapting global best practices in pedagogy and assessment to the Indian context, in close consultation with industry partners.[1]
By articulating a national framework, MSDE aims to bring greater standardisation and clarity to the role of CoEs, including their governance structure, performance benchmarks and linkages with sector skills councils, industry associations and international partners. The emphasis is on measurable outcomes, such as placement rates, wage progression and alignment with recognised qualifications, instead of purely input-oriented targets.[1]
PM-SETU: Upgrading ITIs into industry-aligned Centres of Excellence
The Government’s flagship initiative PM-SETU (Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs) formed a major part of the deliberations. The scheme seeks to reposition ITIs as modern, aspirational and outcome-driven institutions, and to convert them into industry-aligned Centres of Excellence at scale.[1]
PM-SETU has an estimated outlay of ₹60,000 crore and aims to upgrade 1,000 government ITIs through a hub-and-spoke model. Under this design, 200 ITIs will be developed as hub institutions with advanced infrastructure and specialised training capabilities, each linked to around four spoke ITIs, creating a network of 200 hubs and 800 spokes nationwide.[1]
A key feature of PM-SETU is its emphasis on industry-led governance. The scheme provides for the creation of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) that will include industry representatives and other stakeholders. These SPVs are expected to play a central role in financial management, infrastructure and equipment development, monitoring and evaluation, and facilitating partnerships with employers and technology providers.[1]
Shri Jayant Chaudhary described PM-SETU as a systemic shift in how vocational institutions engage with industry. He highlighted that the scheme aims to embed industry participation across the training lifecycle, from curriculum design and trainer exposure to apprenticeships and final placements.[1]
“PM-SETU represents a systemic shift in how vocational institutions engage with industry. By embedding industry participation in curriculum design, trainer exposure, apprenticeships and placements, we are creating ITIs that are relevant, aspirational and directly aligned with labour-market needs—both domestic and global.”
Through PM-SETU, the Government expects to raise the quality and relevance of vocational education, while also making ITIs more attractive to students who might otherwise prefer purely academic pathways. The networked model is intended to ensure that even smaller institutions can access advanced facilities and benefit from structured collaboration with larger hub ITIs and industry partners.[1]
Role of industry and CII in co-creating skilling models
The Mumbai interaction placed strong emphasis on the role of industry as a co-creator, rather than a passive beneficiary, of the skilling ecosystem. Senior representatives from CII and leading companies articulated the need for shared responsibility in designing and delivering training that keeps pace with rapid changes in technology and business models.[1]
CII leadership underlined that industry has a direct interest in ensuring that the skilling system delivers job-ready talent with appropriate technical, digital and soft skills. They argued that companies can contribute not only by providing placements, but also by co-developing curricula, offering on-the-job training, providing access to real-world equipment and processes, and supporting faculty development in collaboration with government institutions.[1]
Industry speakers also highlighted the importance of evolving new collaborative models that integrate classroom instruction with workplace-based learning. They noted that sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, financial services and hospitality require continuous upgradation of skills, which can be facilitated through apprenticeship programmes, modular courses and micro-credentials aligned with specific job roles.[1]
During the interactive session, participants shared examples of how joint initiatives between companies, ITIs and sector skills councils have improved placement rates and reduced training time. They emphasised that clearer frameworks for partnership and incentives could help scale such initiatives, particularly in smaller cities and rural areas where industry presence may be limited but demand for skilled workers is growing.[1]
Apprenticeships and labour-market responsiveness
Another major strand of the discussion involved strengthening apprenticeship ecosystems to create a more seamless bridge between education and employment. The minister reiterated the Government’s focus on scaling participation under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS). He described apprenticeships as a critical component of a responsive skilling system that adjusts quickly to changing industry needs.[1]
Stakeholders pointed out that apprenticeships, when designed with clear learning outcomes and mentoring support, provide young people with hands-on experience and an understanding of workplace expectations, while allowing employers to evaluate and shape talent pipelines. Expanding such arrangements across sectors is seen as essential for translating investments in skilling into actual employment gains.[1]
The deliberations also covered the need for better data and analytics to track labour-market trends and to feed this information into curriculum updates and course offerings. Participants suggested that regular feedback from employers on the performance of trainees, combined with systematic tracking of placement and wage outcomes, can help institutions adjust in real time to shifts in demand.[1]
International collaboration and Skill India International Centres
Beyond domestic needs, the Government is positioning advanced skilling and Centres of Excellence as key instruments for enhancing global employability of Indian workers. Shri Jayant Chaudhary highlighted the role of Skill India International Centres (SIICs) in this context, describing them as gateways to international-standard training and overseas employment opportunities.[1]
The minister urged industry to partner in operationalising these centres, particularly in sectors where there is strong demand for skilled Indian professionals abroad. Such collaboration may involve aligning courses with international certifications, adapting training to destination-country regulations, and working with overseas employers to identify priority skills and job roles.[1]
He also referred to the recent Cabinet approval of India’s participation in the World Economic Forum’s Skill Accelerator initiative. This engagement is intended to help India align its skilling ecosystem with global best practices and emerging trends in workforce development, including the integration of digital learning platforms, recognition of prior learning and new frameworks for lifelong upskilling.[1]
Digital identifiers, credit portability and outcome measurement
To support structured collaboration and long-term mobility for learners, the Government is placing emphasis on digital tools and outcome-based evaluation. The minister highlighted the importance of the Employability Matrix as a standardised index to assess job readiness across different sectors and qualifications. Such an index is expected to make it easier for employers to interpret certification outcomes and for institutions to benchmark their performance.[1]
He also drew attention to initiatives such as the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) and the APAAR ID framework, which are designed to enable flexible learning pathways and credit portability across institutions and courses. By allowing learners to accumulate and transfer credits over time, these systems support lifelong learning and make it easier to combine short-term skilling courses with longer-duration academic programmes.[1]
According to MSDE, these measures will help create an integrated ecosystem in which data on enrolment, course completion, certification and employment outcomes can be linked and analysed. This, in turn, can inform both policy decisions and industry planning, strengthening the evidence base for future collaboration.[1]
Sectoral skilling and parallel initiatives
The push for structured collaboration with industry in advanced skilling and Centres of Excellence is complemented by sector-specific schemes led by other ministries that incorporate capacity building as a core component. For instance, the Ministry of Textiles is implementing the SAMARTH scheme for capacity building in the textile sector, with a focus on demand-driven, placement-oriented skilling programmes that supplement industry efforts in job creation.[2]
Under SAMARTH, over 5.40 lakh beneficiaries have been trained as of December 2025, covering various segments across the textile value chain, excluding spinning and weaving in the organised sector. The scheme aims to ensure that skilling programmes are closely aligned with the needs of employers in the organised textile and related industries.[2]
Similarly, the National Technical Textiles Mission includes a component to create skilled and educated manpower in the field of technical textiles, reinforcing the broader Government focus on advanced and specialised skills in high-growth sectors. These measures, while distinct from PM-SETU, follow a similar approach of integrating capacity building, research and industry collaboration.[2]
Perspectives from government and industry
Government officials at the Mumbai interaction reiterated that building a skilled, confident and future-ready workforce requires sustained partnership across ministries, state governments, industry bodies, training providers and educational institutions. MSDE representatives indicated that the ministry will continue to host such consultations to refine policy instruments and ensure that schemes such as PM-SETU and SIICs remain closely aligned with on-the-ground needs.[1]
From the industry side, CII leaders emphasised that long-term competitiveness depends on the quality of human capital and that companies are prepared to invest time and resources in joint initiatives that deliver measurable outcomes. They welcomed the move towards clearer frameworks for co-governance, standardisation of qualifications and recognition of work-based learning.[1]
Experts present at the session noted that aligned training programmes and stronger placement linkages can significantly enhance enrolment, particularly among youth who are weighing vocational options against traditional academic courses. They also pointed out that as training quality improves and placement outcomes become more predictable, trust in vocational pathways is likely to increase among students, parents and employers alike.[1]
Potential administrative and public impact
The structured collaboration agenda, anchored in initiatives such as PM-SETU and the proposed Centres of Excellence framework, is expected to have several administrative and public implications over the medium term.
Administrative implications
From an administrative standpoint, the creation of SPVs with industry participation introduces a new layer of governance for public training institutions. These entities will have responsibility for planning, infrastructure upgradation, equipment procurement and monitoring, in coordination with central and state authorities. This model may require new protocols for accountability, financial oversight and reporting.[1]
The hub-and-spoke design will also necessitate structured coordination between flagship hub ITIs and their linked spoke institutions, including shared curricula, faculty development plans and equipment usage. State skill development missions and directorates overseeing ITIs are likely to play a key role in operationalising these arrangements and ensuring that standards are maintained across the network.[1]
Integration of digital tools such as the Employability Matrix, APAAR IDs and the Academic Bank of Credits will require back-end system upgrades, data-sharing frameworks and training for institutional staff. Ministries and regulators will need to align their data standards to make the most of these platforms for monitoring and policy evaluation.[1]
Impact on learners and employers
For learners, particularly students in ITIs and vocational institutions, the advanced skilling and CoE push is expected to translate into access to modern equipment, updated curricula and improved placement opportunities. Exposure to industry-designed courses and apprenticeship opportunities could enhance their familiarity with real-world tools, processes and quality standards.[1]
The focus on international collaboration and Skill India International Centres also opens additional pathways for those seeking employment abroad, especially in sectors that require globally recognised certifications. As these centres mature, candidates may benefit from more targeted preparation for overseas labour markets, including language skills, regulatory compliance and cultural orientation.[1]
Employers stand to gain from a more predictable and transparent skilling ecosystem. Standardised indices such as the Employability Matrix, combined with digital credentials and credit portability, can simplify recruitment processes and make it easier to identify candidates with specific competencies. Over time, the increased availability of job-ready workers could reduce onboarding and training costs for industry.[1]
Next steps in consolidating structured collaboration
The Mumbai interaction concluded with a broad consensus that sustained and structured collaboration between government, industry and bodies such as CII will be critical to the success of ongoing reforms in the skilling ecosystem. Participants reaffirmed their commitment to developing industry-led skilling models, modernising training institutions, expanding apprenticeships and improving labour-market responsiveness.[1]
MSDE indicated that the deliberations would feed into the implementation strategies for PM-SETU, the national framework for Centres of Excellence and related initiatives aimed at strengthening advanced skilling across sectors. Similar engagements are expected to be held with industry representatives in other regions to capture sectoral and regional perspectives and to build a shared roadmap for execution.[1]
The structured collaboration effort represents a consolidation of multiple strands of government policy on skills, including vocational education reforms, international mobility initiatives and sectoral capacity building schemes. Its progress will be closely watched by stakeholders across the education, employment and industry landscape, given its potential to influence both workforce readiness and the trajectory of India’s economic growth.
