Academia-Industry tie-up: Curing India’s Unemployment Crisis

India boasts of being the largest engineering education system with about 1.5 million engineers graduating each year. These statistics are further followed by 8.5 million graduates in other fields such as BA, BCom, BSC, and BBA degrees. However, in a report by the International Labour Organization, it was found that nearly 29.1% of young university graduates in India were unemployed in 2022. This implies that inspite of the rising numbers of graduates, the state of unemployment in the nation is still a cause of major concern. As a result, it is  necessary to understand as to why the situation has deteriorated to this extent.

The Paradox of Vacancies:

The opposite state of this multidimensional issue is that inspite of so many unemployed graduates,  there are a range of companies which are not able to fill their vacancies. According to the Skill India Report 2021, nearly half of India’s graduates are not even employable, which is the main reason for these vacancies. In fact, when a company hires a fresh graduate, the first few months are spent on training them in skills that they should have acquired during their qualification.

This leads us to the centre of this issue. The skills of our graduates often fail to meet the industry’s requirements. There are companies like Infosys and TCS, who have stepped up to train their hires and make them fit for the jobs. However, it cannot be denied that this is a huge investment for these companies and small to medium companies can obviously not afford them. Also there are chances that after their training, these trainees may even seek alternate employment opportunities, which leaves the companies with zero returns.

Benefits of Academia-Industry Collaborations:

Academia-industry tie-ups not only provide students with hands-on practical experience but also help equip them with skills that the industry requires to bridge the employment gap. They bring in more research and innovation and provide students with access to advanced technology and infrastructure. This state has been affirmed by research scholars as well. In a conversation with Mr. Sourab Barath Vijayaraghavan, who is an Indian PhD scholar in France under the Marie Curie Fellowship, and has completed his M.Tech from NIT Rourkela testifies to this reality. He has also worked as a research assistant in IISC Bangalore and mentions that “I left India because research is repetitive and there are a lot of people competing for few resources. I had to wait for days to use the lab equipment necessary for my research at IISC. Despite India’s large population, our access to the talent pool is so small that it reduces our networking opportunities. It is a systemic issue and not an intellect issue”

It is quite common for companies in developed economies like the USA to fund research proposals, enable technology transfers and in certain cases co-authoring papers with researchers or institutions. They may also lead to patents, which can lead to direct monetary profits along with autonomy in the market.

These collaborations promote inter-organizational learning by sharing resources effectively. However, this concept is new and rather rare in India. Most of our research grants come from the government, which can be a burden on our existing financial capacities. This can also lead to a range of administrative issues along with instances of potential political biases .

There have been certain developments on this issue. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, also emphasized on their importance and mentioned that the government is trying to work with industry groups and is seeking their feedback on the required changes in the curriculum.  Some start-ups, leveraging their networks and resources, have begun investing in Research and Development in India. Ather Energy, an electric two-wheeler start-up started its journey at IIT Madras Research Park, an incubation centre for IITM students and alumni. The research park houses similar other forms of start-ups, giving them access to the required infrastructure and a huge talent pool made of students of the premier institute.

Exploring the obligations of state:

In the past few months, the Government of India has launched several schemes to incentivise employers to create new avenues for employment along with social security benefits. Schemes like the PM Internship scheme have established provisions for skill development for the youth through internship programs and training. Other schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) and National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) also follow a similar pattern. These schemes are remedial in nature, attempting to patch up an already struggling job market. However, as reflected earlier, the impact continues to be very minimal.

In an interview with Think School, Shashi Tharoor, Member of Lok Sabha, mentioned that, “Government’s job is to create an enabling environment”. He further pressed on the obligation of the government to ensure that the youth is skilled to qualify for the jobs present in the market. In this context he highlighted the importance of universities having tie-ups with industries.

These tie ups often pave the way for significant benefits like innovation and increase in revenues. These interactions also enable universities to integrate industry experience into their curriculum, which is why educational institutions are often expected to forge closer relationships with industries. In fact, these collaborations are found to be beneficial for both the parties,. They are the “hallmark of the education economy”, which is why these initiatives should be actively promoted.

Conclusion:

The government should provide incentives like tax breaks, grants and subsidies to make it attractive for businesses to invest in educational institutes. We have been harping on the root causes of India’s unemployment and unemployability crisis for quite some time. But its time to now take the next step by taking initiatives to solve it.

There is a dire need for India to change its education policy, which is plagued by excessive regulations. It needs to be deregulated with the existing framework to be more accommodative of  such innovative forms of education. It is necessary to understand the fact that regulations make it difficult for businesses to invest in upcoming trends in the market and the world by integrating them with education. Academia-industry tie-ups are one of the ways to cure India’s unemployment and unemployability crisis. With fewer obstacles, implementation should be smoother, but these initiatives will only be effective with a long-term vision.