The Economic Survey 2025-26 made a case for upgradation of Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) diplomas into bachelor-level degrees to help make vocational pathways more attractive and valued along with a unified apprenticeship mission ensuring better policy alignment and closer integration between education, skilling, and employment.
Tabled in the Parliament on Thursday, the Survey further suggests aligning institutional incentives, employer partnerships, course portfolios, placement services, and integrity mechanisms around the lived outcomes of trainees for the skilling system in India to work.
“On the positive side, degree-equivalent recognition can enhance the reputation and social prestige of vocational tracks in a country where families often equate degrees with status and opportunities,” it said.
“It may also enhance academic mobility, enabling lateral entry into higher education, professional certifications or engineering pathways that were previously closed to vocational graduates,” it added.
“Apprenticeship opportunities should also expand into new-age and gig economy sectors, including green manufacturing, logistics, and digital services, to meet emerging industry demands,” it said.
“Finally, enhanced industry participation can be encouraged through MSME cluster models and graded incentives tailored to companies based on their size,” it added.
As per the Survey, there is a need to ensure continuity and support for apprentices by providing insurance coverage, travel and accommodation assistance, and linkages to post-apprenticeship employment or entrepreneurship schemes, making participation safer and more rewarding.
impact assessments that would provide valuable insights for scaling, enhancing choice, equity, and overall effectiveness across the skilling ecosystem.
“In addition, empanelment of training providers based on quality standards, combined with performance-based monitoring, ensures that meaningful outcomes are achieved.” it added.
According to the Survey, skill vouchers represent a promising alternative to financing skill development. “This is a demand-side financing instrument that enables trainees to choose their preferred courses and encourages competition among training providers to offer higher-quality programmes,” it said.
“The learner chooses the course, contributes a small co-payment, and the training institute redeems the voucher for payment upon meeting specified performance criteria,” it added.
Tabled in the Parliament on Thursday, the Survey further suggests aligning institutional incentives, employer partnerships, course portfolios, placement services, and integrity mechanisms around the lived outcomes of trainees for the skilling system in India to work.
“On the positive side, degree-equivalent recognition can enhance the reputation and social prestige of vocational tracks in a country where families often equate degrees with status and opportunities,” it said.
“It may also enhance academic mobility, enabling lateral entry into higher education, professional certifications or engineering pathways that were previously closed to vocational graduates,” it added.
Apprenticeship Mission
Suggesting a need for a unified apprenticeship mission, the Survey has proposed bringing the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme, the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) and similar schemes under a single framework, ensuring better policy alignment and closer integration between education, skilling, and employment.“Apprenticeship opportunities should also expand into new-age and gig economy sectors, including green manufacturing, logistics, and digital services, to meet emerging industry demands,” it said.
“Finally, enhanced industry participation can be encouraged through MSME cluster models and graded incentives tailored to companies based on their size,” it added.
As per the Survey, there is a need to ensure continuity and support for apprentices by providing insurance coverage, travel and accommodation assistance, and linkages to post-apprenticeship employment or entrepreneurship schemes, making participation safer and more rewarding.
Skill Vouchers
The Survey suggests states implementing skill voucher programmes can expand vouchers beyond targeted groups and conduct regularimpact assessments that would provide valuable insights for scaling, enhancing choice, equity, and overall effectiveness across the skilling ecosystem.
“In addition, empanelment of training providers based on quality standards, combined with performance-based monitoring, ensures that meaningful outcomes are achieved.” it added.
According to the Survey, skill vouchers represent a promising alternative to financing skill development. “This is a demand-side financing instrument that enables trainees to choose their preferred courses and encourages competition among training providers to offer higher-quality programmes,” it said.
“The learner chooses the course, contributes a small co-payment, and the training institute redeems the voucher for payment upon meeting specified performance criteria,” it added.
