E-Paper
Build trust into the framework of learning
This article is authored by Ankur Bansal, founder & CEO and Madhunika Iyer, senior consultant, GDi Partners.
A young professional at the start of her career today is still far more likely to enroll in a conventional four-year degree after Class 12 than to piece together a year of college credits, an apprenticeship, and a short-term certification into an equally valid qualification. Yet this is precisely the alternative India's education reforms now make possible: A path where academic and vocational credits accumulate over time, certifications stack onto one another, and a portfolio of verified skills can carry as much weight as a single degree.
Over the past five years, India has laid the foundation for a lifelong learning ecosystem. The National Education Policy (NEP) promotes flexible learning pathways. The National Credit Framework (NCF), Academic Bank of Credits (ABC), and revised National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) together enable learners to accumulate academic and vocational credits throughout their careers rather than relying solely on one-time qualifications.
The architecture is ambitious. But architecture alone does not change behaviour.
Today, most young Indians continue to view conventional degrees as the safest route to employment. The challenge is no longer creating pathways for lifelong learning. It is making modular credentials credible enough that learners, employers, parents, and financial institutions trust them.
This challenge is perhaps most visible in India's skilling ecosystem.
Given the choice between a university degree and a shorter vocational programme, most students still choose the degree. Even when employment outcomes are uncertain, degrees continue to dominate because they carry social and market recognition. Ironically, graduate unemployment remains persistently high, while employers across sectors frequently report shortages of job-ready talent.
Meanwhile, formal vocational training remains under-utilised. Fewer than five percent of Indians between the ages of 15 and 29 have completed formal vocational training despite years of policy emphasis on skill development.
The issue is not the availability of training. It is the credibility of the credential.
Credentials derive their value not from being issued but from being trusted.
An employer shortlisting candidates, a parent advising a child, or a bank evaluating an education loan all rely on credentials as signals of future capability. They make decisions under uncertainty, and credible credentials reduce that uncertainty.
This is where India's modular learning ecosystem faces its biggest hurdle.
Over the past decade, millions of young people have participated in skilling programmes. Yet employers often struggle to interpret what many certifications actually represent. Training quality varies widely, assessment standards remain inconsistent, and employment outcomes are not always transparent.
Consider a recruiter hiring for an entry-level quality-control position. One candidate holds a BTech degree from an average engineering college. Another has completed a six-month certification from a training provider the recruiter has never encountered before.
The second candidate may possess stronger practical skills. Yet the recruiter is more likely to trust the degree because its meaning is familiar. It represents years of structured assessment, institutional accountability, and recognised standards.
Degrees are not always better measures of competence. They are simply better understood.
If India wants lifelong learning to become mainstream rather than aspirational, modular credentials must earn similar levels of confidence.
Building that trust will take time, but policy can accelerate the process.
The first priority is transparency.
Every publicly funded skilling programme should routinely disclose learner outcomes: how many participants secured employment, the roles they entered, the salaries they earned, and whether they remained employed over time. Today, providers are often rewarded primarily for enrolment numbers. Greater transparency would enable learners to compare programmes objectively while encouraging higher-quality providers to thrive.
Second, credentials must become more closely linked to real workplaces.
Employers trust demonstrated capability far more than classroom instruction alone. Expanding apprenticeships, internships, and structured workplace learning allows employers to directly evaluate skills while giving learners practical experience. Credentials backed by workplace performance naturally carry greater credibility.
Third, governments should lead by example.
As one of India's largest employers and purchasers of services, government has the ability to shape labour market behaviour. Public recruitment and procurement processes continue to rely predominantly on conventional educational qualifications. Introducing competency-based hiring alongside recognised skill certifications would send a strong signal that alternative learning pathways are valued within the formal economy.
Ultimately, India's challenge is not the absence of policy. The country has already built an impressive institutional framework for lifelong learning.
The harder task lies in creating confidence around it.
When employers begin hiring based on demonstrated competencies, when parents confidently recommend modular learning pathways, when banks finance skill-based education, and when learners choose certifications because they trust their value, lifelong learning will move from policy aspiration to everyday reality.
Only then will the modular pathway become the rule rather than the exception.
(The views expressed are personal)
This article is authored by Ankur Bansal, founder & CEO and Madhunika Iyer, senior consultant, GDi Partners.
