Half of all ITI seats in India are empty. Every year.
Because Gen Z looked at ITI outcomes and said no, thank you.
Nearly 13 lakh seats go unoccupied annually across India’s 15,000 ITIs.
The reason is a crisis of relevance and trust. When parents see that more than half of ITI graduates remain unemployed, they steer their children elsewhere.
PMKVY 4.0 saw a 30.59% dropout rate in 2024–25. 3 lakh candidates walked out mid-training… a rational decision by a generation that Googles outcomes before they enrol.
57% of Gen Z defines career growth as learning new skills on the job. 94% say on-the-job learning drives their career growth.
They aren’t rejecting skill development. They’re rejecting a system that puts them in a classroom for 12 months before letting them touch real work.
What reform actually looks like for this cohort:
→ Earn-while-you-learn as the default. Stipend-linked apprenticeships over certificate-first models.
→ Micro-credentials that are stackable and industry-recognised. 30% of Indian employers are already dropping degree requirements, nearly double the global average. Hiring is moving. Training hasn’t.
→ District-level demand mapping to decide which trades are offered, expanded, or retired, instead of running electrician and fitter courses everywhere because that’s what ITIs have always done.
The system was designed for a generation that accepted delayed gratification.
Gen Z wants proof of outcome before they commit. That’s not a mindset problem to fix. It’s a design brief.
How do you think skilling programs should be restructured for this generation?
