Dr. Gayathri Vasudevan, Co-founder and Chairperson, Sambhav Foundation
“India’s skilling conversation is entering a new phase. Expanding access to training remains important, but the bigger challenge today is ensuring that skills translate into meaningful livelihoods. While youth employability has risen from nearly 34% a decade ago to over 51%, employers continue to report gaps in workplace readiness, digital capabilities, and industry-specific skills. This is why skilling can no longer be designed in isolation. It must evolve alongside industry and the changing nature of work.
At Sambhav Foundation, we have seen that the strongest outcomes come when training reflects industry needs, builds workplace-ready skills, and prepares young people for sustainable livelihoods through employment or entrepreneurship. In one of our recent programmes, 180 candidates were certified and 150 transitioned into livelihoods, including wage employment and self-employment, demonstrating what is possible when training is closely aligned with market demand.
Scaling this kind of impact will require stronger collaboration between industry, training institutions, governments, and communities so that skilling reflects both evolving industry needs and the realities of local job markets. When training is aligned with the opportunities available within and around communities, it improves not only employability but also long-term workforce participation and livelihood sustainability. As this year’s World Youth Skills Day reminds us, ‘Skills for a Shared Future’ is ultimately about ensuring that every young person has the skills, opportunities, and support to participate meaningfully in India’s growth.”
Mr. Jaison C. Mathew, Chief Executive Officer, Christel House India
“We often speak about preparing young people for employment, but that preparation must begin long before they acquire technical skills.
Before a young person can become a skilled professional, they must first become a confident learner. For many first-generation learners, confidence is built through years of consistent support, having teachers who believe in them, access to healthcare and nutrition that allows them to learn, opportunities to communicate, lead, solve problems, and mentors who help them imagine a future they may never have seen around them. Skilling, therefore, cannot begin only when a young person is ready to enter the workforce. It must be a continuum that starts in childhood and evolves alongside every stage of their educational journey.
This belief shapes the way we work at Christel House India. From the age of five until students establish themselves in higher education or employment, we invest not only in academic learning but also in healthcare, nutrition, counselling, career guidance, workplace exposure, and long-term mentoring. Through our structured College & Careers programme, career planning begins as early as Grade 5, and students continue receiving guidance through higher education and into employment, with mentorship extending until the age of 23. The goal is to help young people develop the resilience, adaptability, communication skills, and confidence that employers increasingly value alongside technical expertise. Today, 99% of our graduates are pursuing higher education, employed, or doing both, demonstrating the value of sustained support beyond the classroom.
As industries continue to evolve, technical skills will need constant updating. But the ability to keep learning, adapt with confidence, and embrace new opportunities is what enables young people not only to build meaningful careers, but also to create lasting change within their families and communities.”
