Employability and transition to labour market in emerging economies: An Indian perspective on Higher education

Young people account for one fifth of the world’s population and according to the population projections of Planning Commission of India, they contribute to 22.8% of the Indian population. Majority of these young people constitute student population acquiring higher education who may contribute to future workforce of the country. These young people, across the globe, especially in developing countries where the population density and growth is also highest, face unprecedented challenges in their capacity to access public resources and family resources, stemmed from waves of cultural and economic globalisation. Educational qualification levels of the people in the age group 15 to 29 are also expected to improve significantly in the next decade. Growing enrolments in higher education and rising rates of return on it, in not only advanced countries but also many developing countries tend to make a case for expanding higher education to reach larger number of people across the world and India is not an exception. Hence the paper seeks to study the higher education development in India and analyses employability of higher education sector in India and its transition to labour market. The study shows that India with enormous population of 1.21 billion people and an expanding economy, is in urgent demand for qualified work force. Finding reliable solutions for developing the higher education system to facilitate sustainable economic growth is the call, which will require persistent policy, polity and political motivation in the right direction from the stakeholders which lacks at the moment in the country.