India has taken a significant step towards strengthening its skills and vocational education ecosystem with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship signing a landmark Memorandum of Understanding with the World Economic Forum to deepen cooperation in skilling, vocational education and workforce transformation.
The agreement establishes a framework for close collaboration between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the World Economic Forum to launch and implement the India Skills Accelerator, a multi-stakeholder platform designed to identify, scale and accelerate innovative solutions and public–private partnerships to address critical skill gaps in the workforce. The initiative is aimed at aligning India’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training ecosystem more closely with the evolving needs of industry, emerging technologies and global labour markets.
The Skills Accelerator will focus on building a future-ready workforce by promoting lifelong learning, upskilling and reskilling, and enabling flexible education and training pathways. It seeks to strengthen the integration of vocational education with higher education, encourage mutual recognition of qualifications, and enhance the relevance of curricula in line with industry demand. The initiative is aligned with the National Education Policy 2020 and Vision India at 2047, positioning skilling as a core pillar of inclusive growth and national transformation.
Shri Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State with Independent Charge for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Minister of Education, said the partnership marks a key milestone in aligning India’s skilling ecosystem with the future of work. He noted that the formalisation of the India Skills Accelerator brings together government, industry and education stakeholders to address current and emerging skill gaps through coordinated action, outcome-based skill financing and global alignment of labour-market needs.
Welcoming the collaboration, Shri Sukanta Majumdar, Minister of State for Education, said the MoU strongly complements the objectives of the National Education Policy 2020 by integrating education with skilling and fostering lifelong learning. He highlighted that the initiative would help bridge critical skill gaps, enhance the global employability of Indian youth and align India’s talent pool with emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, green energy, robotics and advanced manufacturing, while supporting inclusive growth and positioning India as a global hub for skilled manpower.
Industry leaders also underlined the strategic importance of the initiative. Sanjiv Bajaj, Co-Chair for the India Skills Accelerator and Chairman and Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv Ltd, said that aligning global insights on the future of work with India’s vast talent pool would help build scalable, industry-aligned skilling architecture that supports productivity, innovation and inclusive growth. He emphasised that with over 500 million people under the age of 25, sustained investment in human capital is essential to converting India’s demographic advantage into long-term economic leadership.
Ms Shobana Kamineni, Co-Chair for the India Skills Accelerator and Executive Chairperson of Apollo Health Co and Promoter Director of Apollo Hospitals, said the initiative strengthens the link between policy and practice by mobilising industry, educators and innovators to translate workforce needs into deployable skills and sustainable jobs. She noted that the collaboration positions India as a trusted, future-ready contributor to the global talent ecosystem.
Under the MoU, the Skills Accelerator will also support innovative financing mechanisms for skilling, enable strategic coordination among key stakeholders and identify global demand and supply trends across job roles to enhance international employability. Special emphasis will be placed on future-of-work domains including artificial intelligence, robotics, green energy, cybersecurity and advanced manufacturing. The programme will also promote innovation-led activities such as hackathons and the implementation of a structured action plan to translate ideas into scalable outcomes.
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship will work closely with higher education institutions, vocational training institutions and regulatory bodies such as AICTE and UGC to support awareness, implementation and scaling of the initiative. A structured governance framework involving co-chairs from government and the private sector, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, will oversee implementation, monitoring and impact assessment.
The collaboration reflects strong inter-ministerial coordination, with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Education working together to advance India’s skilling and vocational education agenda through global partnerships. It also builds on momentum generated during India’s engagement at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters in January 2025, where skill development was highlighted as a strategic pillar for inclusive growth and international cooperation.
Through this partnership with the World Economic Forum, India aims to accelerate reforms, deepen global linkages and position itself as a leading global hub for skills, talent and innovation, contributing to a resilient, inclusive and future-ready workforce in the decades ahead.
