Source: UN News: Wednesday, February 18, 2026 00:01 AM
The World Bank has approved financial assistance to strengthen India’s skills training institutions, with the aim of linking training to job-market needs. Also, to create more employment opportunities for the youth entering working life. In India, the share of youth in the total unemployed people of the country is about 72 percent. The gap between training and industry needs is still affecting productivity, growth and income of companies. Industrial Training Institutes, i.e. ITIs, which play an important role in skilling the youth, are facing many challenges today. These include inadequate facilities, lack of qualified trainers and limited resources to meet industry standards. For this reason, less than half of the youth who take training from ITI are able to get employment.Prime Minister Skill and Employment Transformation Program under Advanced ITI Through this, a loan of 83 crore dollars has been given to modernize the ITI system. This initiative is expected to produce more than one million, better trained workers every year. This will help in connecting more youth with employment. This program has been prepared in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank. Under this, private capital of at least $ 680 million will also be raised to increase the participation of the private sector in skills training. New Model Paul Prossie, Acting Country Director of the World Bank in India, said, “Every year more than 12 million people enter the labor market. Therefore, job creation is a national priority for India.” He said, “Private sector-led job creation is the World Bank Group’s vision for India.” New Country Partnership Framework Is an important part of. The program will support India’s $4 billion investment in improving ITIs by strengthening training in line with industry needs, so that more youth can become employable.” Many of the skills taught and taught in ITIs, such as electricians, mechanics and welders, have so far been largely limited to men. Over the next five years, the program will innovate curriculum and aim to ensure that at least 25 percent of ITI students are women. This will enable women to access better-paid jobs. This program will also help ITIs become multi-role institutions. Margaret Clark and Toby Lindon, task team leaders of the programme, said that this initiative will enable ITIs to adopt a balanced combination of training, mentoring and production activities. This will enable ITIs to generate their own income and improve the quality and reach of training. Through a ‘hub-and-spoke’ model, specialized and resource-efficient centers of excellence will be created. The total repayment period of this $83 million loan is 19.5 years, including an additional period of four years.