From school to jobs: How Delhi's vocational education opens job doors for students
Firms such as HCL, Tech Mahindra, Haldiram, Citikart, and Navgurukul offered provisional job offers, hiring for roles in IT support, retail, customer service, and operations.VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FROM CLASS 9Vocational training is now introduced as early as Class 9 in Delhi government schools. Students can choose from a range of trades, including information technology, healthcare, retail, electronics, and logistics.As per data from the Directorate of Education, more than 4.2 lakh students opted for vocational subjects during the last academic session.Speaking at the event, Education Minister Ashish Sood said, "This is not just about earning money, it's about building the confidence to move forward in life and helping students develop the skills to find jobs on their own."He also extended appreciation to the Directorate of Vocational Training and school administrators for preparing students to enter the workforce with confidence.CORPORATE INTEREST GROWSThe increasing presence of well-known companies at these fairs shows a shift in how vocational education is perceived.The focus is no longer only on higher education but also on making students employment-ready at the school level.This approach is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which promotes integrating vocational learning with mainstream academics.CHALLENGES REMAIN IN INFRASTRUCTURE AND OUTCOMESWhile the initiative has seen enthusiastic participation, challenges remain. Most of the jobs offered are entry-level, and there is little long-term data on job retention or career growth.Additionally, infrastructure gaps and teacher training limitations are being addressed gradually. The government has pledged to expand smart classrooms, robotics labs, and computing facilities to strengthen vocational offerings.Still, for many students, these job fairs are the first encounter with formal hiring processes, a crucial step toward financial independence and confidence.- Ends
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'The accumulated credits which are transferable across institutions and levels of education will ensure that vocational education holds equal value in the broader education ecosystem,' NCVET said. A senior education ministry official said students get familiar with skilling in Classes 6 to 8 and they have to compulsorily study skill subjects in Classes 9 to 12 'We have asked all the state and UT school boards to become an assessment and awarding body for vocational and skill education. We are hoping that all the state and UT school boards will be on the NCVET portal as dual awarding bodies within this academic year 2025-26,' he said. India has 66 school boards, including two central regular examination boards (CBSE and CISCE), 52 state and UT boards and 12 open boards (including NIOS and 11 state open boards). Among the 52 state and UT boards, 35 conduct both secondary and higher secondary exams, while 17 boards are there for each level. Tadeu Braganza, system analyst at Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, who attended NCVET's July 18 workshop said that Goa Board is awaiting approval from NCVET for recognition as a dual awarding body after submitting the application. 'But as instructed by NCVET officials, we have to start working on the different areas. As soon as the Goa Legislative Assembly's monsoon session is over [On August 8] the chairman of the Goa board will execute the plan formulated for instructors and will hold a meeting with subject experts and experts from different industries to design the curriculum as per the requirement of the state of Goa,' he said. Under the recently notified 'Guidelines for Recognition and Regulation of Awarding Bodies, 2025,' the school boards are required to meet only 3 out of the 8 eligibility criteria: having a comprehensive future plan for vocational education, a functional grievance redressal mechanism, and operational readiness (including question banks, assessment protocols, governance systems, and manpower). They are exempt from five other standard requirements applicable to government undertakings and private institutions: legal registration, prior experience, financial capacity, infrastructure, and third-party arrangements. After becoming dual ABs, school boards can offer vocational education subjects in three formats: as part of the core curriculum, as additional qualifications for enrolled students, and through outreach programmes for others. Challenges and way forward The limited institutional capacity of many school boards which mainly function as school examination conducting bodies, is a major challenge in offering vocational education. Jyotismita Borah, deputy coordinator, Assam Higher Secondary Education Council, said that there is a scarcity of subject matter experts within the board to design the vocational and skill training curriculum for students. 'As an assessing body, we will have lots of subject matter experts as we will sign MoU with technical education institutions. We will take their help in designing a skill curriculum. Our function as a dual awarding body will benefit students to get certificates up to NSQF-level 4 which will help them in acquiring skill and getting employment in future,' she said. PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), the national assessment centre under NCERT, has been pushing for the inclusion of skill-based subjects in school curricula by working with state boards to align the assessment frameworks, into a competency based scheme and employability skills. Indrani Bhaduri, chief executive officer of national assessment centre PARAKH, said that state boards becoming dual ABs, will offer multiple benefits to students. 'By embedding vocational education into regular school learning, students can explore diverse career paths early in their academic journey. It opens up opportunities for hands-on learning, industry exposure, and skill development, thereby improving their employability and reducing the gap between education and workforce readiness. Furthermore, it supports holistic development by catering to varied learning interests and abilities, fostering a more inclusive and practical education system. The holistic progress card (HPC) at the secondary stage developed by PARAKH, has all of these integrated in the system,' she said. HPC is a holistic, 360-degree, multidimensional report that reflects the progress as well as the uniqueness of each learner in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains.
