New Delhi, Jan 29 : The Finance Ministry on Monday said that nearly 1.4 crore candidates have been trained under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) since its inception in 2015, as part of the National Skill Development Mission and the National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship launched in 2014.

The recently launched Skill India Digital platform, identified as the Digital Public Infrastructure for the skilling, education, employment, and entrepreneurship ecosystem, is deemed a significant step toward simplifying the process of acquiring skills in India, according to the 'Indian Economy: A Review' released by the Department of Economic Affairs under the Finance Ministry.

The concerted effort to promote mass skilling is yielding positive results, with India's standing in WorldSkills Competitions rising from 39th in 2011 to 11th in 2022.

"Further, according to India Skills Report 2023, the employable percentage of final-year and pre-final-year students has increased from 33.9 per cent in 2014 to 51.3 per cent in 2024. Here, employability is measured based on an online Wheebox National Employability Test," it stated.

The combination of increased enrolment in higher education, from 3.2 crore in 2013-14 to 4.1 crore in 2020-21, and the rising employability rate underscores the expansion and enhanced employability of India's young workforce.

The review stated that in a decade marked by transformative progress in skill development, the focus now shifts to mainstreaming skilling into the education curriculum, as outlined in the National Education Policy (NEP).

"The need to upskill a substantial portion of the existing workforce in future-relevant skills is evident. The PLFS 2022-23 report indicates that 72.6 per cent of workers aged 15-59 years did not receive any formal or informal vocational/technical training. With 50.2 per cent of men and 41 per cent of women in the 15-49 age group having ten or more years of schooling, there is a prime opportunity to leverage the education-skill continuum," it said.

/IANS