Young people in India make up 19 per cent of the population and, despite growing demands for skilled employees, the unemployment rate is at 50 per cent for youth across the country. Traditional approaches to preparing people for employment have had very low levels of success, with some students dropping out of programmes, and others unable to find employment despite completing training. This article describes the experience of Gram Tarang Employability Training Services Ltd (GTETS) in providing skills development and employability training to disadvantaged young people in India. Unlike the traditional models of skills training by public and private institutions, GTETS adopts a market-led business model that improves upon quality of curriculum, infrastructure, qualifications of faculty, industry interface to ensure placement, and cost sharing of the training programmes to make it affordable and sustainable.

ASER Centre (2009) Annual Status of Education Report [online], available from: http://www.asercentre.org/asersurvey/aser09/pdfdata/aser09.pdf [accessed 10 September 2010]. http://www.asercentre.org/asersurvey/aser09/pdfdata/aser09.pdf

DGET (Directorate General of Employment and Training) (2003) Tracer Study of Trained Apprentices to Assess the Effectiveness of Apprenticeship Training Scheme, DGET, Ministry of Labour and Employment, New Delhi, India.

EdCIL (2005) Studying the Effectiveness of Vocational Training in the Private Sector in India: Analysis of Data in Eight States, Working Paper prepared for the World Bank by EdCIL (India) Ltd, Noida, India.

FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) (2002) Survey of Employers on Education and Skill Needs, survey conducted by FICCI, New Delhi, India.

GOI (Government of India) (2009) National Knowledge Commission, Report to the Nation, 2006-2009, Government of India, New Delhi, India.

GOI (2010) Annual Report, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, New Delhi, India.

Grierson, J. (2000) ‘Vocational training for self-employment, learning from best practices’, Small Enterprise Development 11: 25-35.

IIPS (International Institute for Population Sciences) (2007) National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005-06: Volume I, IIPS, Mumbai, India.

ILO (International Labour Organization) (2003) Industrial Training Institutes in India: The Efficiency Study Report, ILO Sub-regional Office for South Asia, New Delhi, India.

NSSO (National Sample Survey Organization) (2004) National Sample Survey 61st Round, Consumer Expenditure, Employment-Unemployment Survey, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India.

World Bank (2002) Karnataka: Secondary Education and the New Agenda for Economic Growth, World Bank Grey Cover Report, Washington, DC.

World Bank (2006) Skill Development in India: The Vocational Education and Training System, World Bank, Washington, DC.

ASER Centre (2009) Annual Status of Education Report [online], available from: http://www.asercentre.org/asersurvey/aser09/pdfdata/aser09.pdf [accessed 10 September 2010]. http://www.asercentre.org/asersurvey/aser09/pdfdata/aser09.pdf

DGET (Directorate General of Employment and Training) (2003) Tracer Study of Trained Apprentices to Assess the Effectiveness of Apprenticeship Training Scheme, DGET, Ministry of Labour and Employment, New Delhi, India.

EdCIL (2005) Studying the Effectiveness of Vocational Training in the Private Sector in India: Analysis of Data in Eight States, Working Paper prepared for the World Bank by EdCIL (India) Ltd, Noida, India.

FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) (2002) Survey of Employers on Education and Skill Needs, survey conducted by FICCI, New Delhi, India.

GOI (Government of India) (2009) National Knowledge Commission, Report to the Nation, 2006-2009, Government of India, New Delhi, India.

GOI (2010) Annual Report, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, New Delhi, India.

Grierson, J. (2000) ‘Vocational training for self-employment, learning from best practices’, Small Enterprise Development 11: 25-35.

IIPS (International Institute for Population Sciences) (2007) National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005-06: Volume I, IIPS, Mumbai, India.

ILO (International Labour Organization) (2003) Industrial Training Institutes in India: The Efficiency Study Report, ILO Sub-regional Office for South Asia, New Delhi, India.

NSSO (National Sample Survey Organization) (2004) National Sample Survey 61st Round, Consumer Expenditure, Employment-Unemployment Survey, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India.

World Bank (2002) Karnataka: Secondary Education and the New Agenda for Economic Growth, World Bank Grey Cover Report, Washington, DC.

World Bank (2006) Skill Development in India: The Vocational Education and Training System, World Bank, Washington, DC.

ASER Centre (2009) Annual Status of Education Report [online], available from: http://www.asercentre.org/asersurvey/aser09/pdfdata/aser09.pdf [accessed 10 September 2010]. http://www.asercentre.org/asersurvey/aser09/pdfdata/aser09.pdf

DGET (Directorate General of Employment and Training) (2003) Tracer Study of Trained Apprentices to Assess the Effectiveness of Apprenticeship Training Scheme, DGET, Ministry of Labour and Employment, New Delhi, India.

EdCIL (2005) Studying the Effectiveness of Vocational Training in the Private Sector in India: Analysis of Data in Eight States, Working Paper prepared for the World Bank by EdCIL (India) Ltd, Noida, India.

FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) (2002) Survey of Employers on Education and Skill Needs, survey conducted by FICCI, New Delhi, India.

GOI (Government of India) (2009) National Knowledge Commission, Report to the Nation, 2006-2009, Government of India, New Delhi, India.

GOI (2010) Annual Report, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, New Delhi, India.

Grierson, J. (2000) ‘Vocational training for self-employment, learning from best practices’, Small Enterprise Development 11: 25-35.

IIPS (International Institute for Population Sciences) (2007) National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005-06: Volume I, IIPS, Mumbai, India.

ILO (International Labour Organization) (2003) Industrial Training Institutes in India: The Efficiency Study Report, ILO Sub-regional Office for South Asia, New Delhi, India.

NSSO (National Sample Survey Organization) (2004) National Sample Survey 61st Round, Consumer Expenditure, Employment-Unemployment Survey, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India.

World Bank (2002) Karnataka: Secondary Education and the New Agenda for Economic Growth, World Bank Grey Cover Report, Washington, DC.

World Bank (2006) Skill Development in India: The Vocational Education and Training System, World Bank, Washington, DC.