According to a report by Gi Group Holding, state professional training programs do not always ensure participants are job-ready or lead to permanent employment. The main obstacles identified are a lack of behavioral skills and unfamiliarity with modern work tools.
In the report titled 'From Diplomas to Opportunities: Rethinking the Entry-Level Talent Landscape in India,' only a quarter of program participants managed to find full-time employment at the organization where they were trained. Furthermore, 33% of participants used their certificates to seek employment elsewhere.
The study was based on responses from 1329 participants, including 750 employers and 579 entry-level candidates and specialists, covering 12 sectors and eight major cities in India. Gi Group specified that hiring data was obtained through the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana (PMVBRY) Employment Program, while data on government training programs came from the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS).
Gi Group Holding is an HR service provider headquartered in Italy, offering temporary and permanent staff, internal and international recruitment, executive search, selection and screening, recruitment process outsourcing, onsite managed services, as well as HR consulting and training. According to its website, Gi has direct representation in 37 countries across Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, and the Americas.
In India, the company also provides apprenticeship management services under the government's NAPS and National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS), including candidate sourcing, onboarding, registration, and regulatory compliance.
The report showed that among surveyed employers, 47% stated that government training certificates hold no weight in hiring decisions, whereas only 11% indicated that they prioritize or automatically shortlist candidates with such certifications.
Among candidates who failed to convert training into permanent jobs, behavioral flexibility was cited as the biggest gap (38%), followed by outdated equipment or software (34%), and salary mismatch (13%).