Higher Education of India is in a transitional phase. The youth unemployment is at record high as young graduates are facing unemployment even after gaining ample education from the college. Fresh graduates find problems in the job market due to the lack of skills expected of them by the employers. It is evident that our higher education system is not providing work relevant skills, opportunities and efficient knowledge to our large community of students. Young people are still unaware of the real-time scenarios of the job market, as most of them have not received the necessary training that can exploit their potential. According to various NSSO surveys, youth unemployment is the highest among young graduates. Many employers as well, see recruiting young graduates as a significant barrier to the productivity and are reluctant to invest in training these groups of young people when more experienced candidates are available for hiring. This clearly indicates the lack of quality practical education that students need in order to do well in the industries after graduation.
This calls for an urgent need for a strategy that fits the local need to produce a skilled workforce for strong, sustainable and balanced growth. Thus, it is important to recognize and admit the gaps in the current educational policies. These gaps are in a state to be restructured and then offered. The lack of quality practical education has led to the increase of unemployment. These issues are to be met by institutions who, can collaborate with industries and bring in dynamic curriculums, which can empower the growth of job ready students and help the cause of eradicating unemployment. What the current education system now need is a broad availability of quality education as a foundation for future training. This can lead to brining new policies that address systemic issues and support a long-term vision of providing employers with a workforce who are able to meet the pre-requisite skills and a cohort of young people well aware of the market.

Widening skills gap and talent shortage also needs to be addressed and collaboration between industries and educational institutions can help in that department. Industries have an important role to play in clarifying competencies and developing standards that educators can use as guidelines to develop their programs. The higher education sector should also look inwards for indicators of quality and work in close partnership with industries to generate positive outcome for students. These constituencies can work together to pursue on some key strategies. Boosting job creation and labor demand, better preparation of young people for the job market, illuminating the pathways with career planning and guidance by educational institutes, finding an integrated framework for education and skill development in the rural and urban areas, and fostering entrepreneurship, here needs to top the list of strategies.

There is a whole world, new and exciting with diverse range of options in every field, which is expanding exponentially. However, the level of unemployment keeps increasing by the day. On the other hand the diverse opportunities available have not been stagnant either. There have never been so many career options as there are today. It is a fact that young people today are both excited and confused about the numerous career options available. This is where collaborations between industries and institutes can be introduced for an accurately evaluation of students to placing them at jobs that they will be most effective in. Revised syllabus that can examine the multifold opportunities available within any subject choice should be introduced by such tie-ups, according to the need of the hour. Practice based courses, which can well arm students with all the required information for a range of careers in areas that will be in focus in the next decade.
The plan should be to come up with strategies that can help students to develop a set of career goals, strategy and options based on their interests and skills. A structure to equip students with the necessary tools to be employed should be emphasized and career planning should be taught specifically as well. Collaboration between industries and institutions can lead to major growth in employment and this should be the focus of the higher education system right now.(As told to John Angami)

Limabenla Jamir