INTRODUCTION
In India’s rapidly expanding economy, Artificial Intelligence (hereinafter referred to as “AI”), automation and digitalization are transforming industries faster than any time in history. Employees can no longer just rely on a single set of skills to sustain them for a lifetime. They will now need to continuously re-skill and upskill to obtain skills that are in-demand. Research shows from around the globe predicts that by 2026 nearly half of all employees will need to be re-skilled due to new technologies such as AI and Automation.
Re-skilling refers to teaching your employees new skills to take on different jobs and upskilling means refreshing those skills that your employees already have to keep pace with today’s job roles.
In the context of India, National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) estimates that 63% of the workforce will need to have training done by 2030. Again in the context of AI, cloud computing and data analytics – employees in technology fields need to be continuously re-skilled or upskilled to enhance their job-role skills or change jobs all together. Therefore, re-skilling is not an option, it is an economic imperative.
LEGAL PROVISIONS FOR RESKILLING AND TRAINING OF EMPLOYEES
There are several provisions of labor laws that implicitly protect training rights, especially for safety and skill-building.
- The Factories Act, 1948: Employers must ensure provision of “information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure the health and safety of all workers”. Notably, Section 111A of the Act (inserted in 1987) explicitly gives every worker a right to safety training – either on-site or at approved institutes.
- Industrial Relations Code, 2020: For the first time, India’s labor law creates a Worker Re-skilling Fund. Under Section 83, the Government must set up a fund (financed by employer contributions) so that every retrenched worker can receive compensation equivalent to 15 days’ wages as a “training cost” within 45 days of retrenchment. This institutionalizes support for reskilling displaced workers.
- Apprenticeship Act, 1961: The act seeks to bridge industry-education gaps by mandating practical training (apprenticeships) in many sectors. Likewise, various contract labor and other sector laws require training for workers to carry out specified tasks, especially for work-related safety.
While India does not explicitly include a “right to training” in its laws, a number of training obligations (mostly in relation to safety) and broad obligations relating to workplace training and development exist in the laws. Ultimately, both training obligations and the right to training are not properly implemented since many workers (especially those in the informal sector) are not aware of their training rights or find it hard to assert them.
GOVERNMENT LED INITIATIVES
The Indian government is also launching a very ambitious “Skill India” mission to enable institutionalized training at scale. The Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship states that since it began in 2014, Skill India has trained over 6 crore (60 million) Indians under various training schemes.
- Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY): This is a national vocational training and upskilling program available to employers and workers. Restructured in 2025, the PMKVY Programme ( PMKVY 4.0 ) is a short course and focus on TMD (Trained Manpower Development) courses to train and certify candidates in niche areas aligned to The National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) including AI new technological fields including AI, IoT, etc. By July 2025, it trained 1.63 crore candidates by 2025, with 42.8% of those certified being found jobs. PMKVY is also supporting then certification of prior, informal learning skills through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).
- Skill India Program: In Feb 2025, the Government consolidated, the PMKVY scheme was consolidated with the Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (PM-NAPS) scheme, and the Jan Shikshan Sansthan program into one Skill India Programme.
- Apprenticeship and Placement Schemes: The government incentivizes on-the-job training. As of May 2025, over 43.47 lakh apprentices were enrolled under PM-NAPS across India. States and central agencies also run Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics; as of 2025 there were about 14,615 ITIs (3,316 government and 11,299 private) training over 13 million students, with roughly 63.5% of graduates finding employment.
- Digital Platforms and Partnerships: To modernize skilling, the Skill India Mission launched the Skill India Digital Hub, a platform integrating education, training, employment and entrepreneurship. Government also partners with industry and tech firms: for example, joint programs with Microsoft and Intel offer courses in AI and data science, and alliances with companies like Siemens promote “Dual Vocational Education” models.
EMPLOYER-LED TRAINING AND INDUSTRY INITIATIVES
Recognizing rapid skill shifts, many Indian companies invest heavily in training their workforce and the broader talent pool.
For instance, Tata Consultancy Services runs internal reskilling programs like Elevate Runway (for entry-level talent) and a Mid-Level Transformation initiative to prepare existing employees for new roles. TCS leadership notes that such programs “bridge the gap between academia and industry” by teaching employees emerging skills (e.g. AI, cloud, cybersecurity) which enables adaptation to new job roles.
Manufacturing and engineering firms also prioritize workforce reskilling. For example, Siemens India partnered with the Tata Group’s Tata STRIVE initiative to overhaul training at Industrial Training Institutes. Their dual-VET (vocational education and training) program – modeled on Germany’s apprenticeship system – has jointly trained over 120,000 youth in ITI programs as of 2025. In this collaboration, Siemens engineers and Tata STRIVE instructors revise curricula and provide in-plant internships, effectively “bringing industry closer to trainees”.
Other companies (e.g. L&T, Hindustan Aeronautics, Maruti Suzuki, and tech firms like IBM and Wipro) similarly run in-house academies or partner with institutes to upskill workers in production techniques and new technologies. Many startups and tech giants also support training drives (e.g. platforms like NASSCOM’s FutureSkills Prime) to expand India’s talent pipeline.
CHALLENGES AND GAPS
Challenges and Gaps India’s re-skilling ecosystem faces several key challenges.
- Restrictive access: Vocational training is still small-scale. Only about 2% of workers have any recognized skilled vocation, and several groups, including rural groups, women, and informal workers, have almost no access to training. The skilling system is also highly variable across state, with significant differences in infrastructure. Fragmented governance, created by having multiple agencies, states and schemes, results in overlaps and inefficiencies.
- Quality and relevance: Most training providers are unable to provide up-to-date training having minimal or outdated equipment and curricula. The Apprenticeship Act, while progressive, is poorly implemented: reports indicate that only a fraction of eligible workers get apprenticeship slots. There is a significant shortage of qualified trainers, for example, less than 15% of ITI instructors have any formal training in teaching. There are also low placement rates and only 43% of certified PMKVY graduates were reported to be working in the same employment as their training. The level of industry engagement was also low, very few companies design training or hire graduates to complete the training. Overall, there was mismatch between training and employer.
- Enforcement and Awareness: Unlike rights such as minimum wage or Workplace Safety, employees do not have a typography support “right to skill development.” For many workers (particularly in the informal sector), awareness of existing rights is low and claiming that right is difficult. In light of this, and the lack of an inspector (for example) there is no mechanism required by law for most firms to train workers beyond mere compliance with safety provisions.
- Cultural and Economic Barriers: Occupational training has a stigma and is generally discounted and devalued. Many workers – even those who could be skilled – find it difficult economically and/or mentally and/or due to inconvenience in accessing, “not worth it” to enroll. Even many workers enrolled in the courses still need to contend against standards based credibility and often don’t recognize or claim their training and there is no standard for transcript, or paper certifying prior learning in the training system.
In conclusion, the Skill India framework has gone a long way to strengthen opportunity, yet, serious compromising gaps still exist in quality, coordination, and enforcement, meaning that many citizens and their employers, are still underserved. Training programs will need to become more industry linked, standardized and inclusive to meet the scale and complexity of challenges facing the current workforce training and development systems.
WAY FORWARD
Here are recommended combination of reforms to the law and incentives for industry to promote training as a right for workers in India:
- Right to Training: Labor law should be amended to recognize training as a right that promotes worker skill development. For instance, it could require employers to provide a minimum number of paid work/learning days or training annually. Alternatively, workers could be entitled to paid time off to upskill, or education/training payments could be a condition of employment. The recently approved Worker Re-skilling Fund in the new Industrial Relations Code is a start. It could be the beginning of legislation that applies to the whole pool of displaced workers or even to normal workers.
- Comprehensive Skilling Legislation: A law could consolidate the many schemes into a comprehensive framework (e.g. incorporate vocational training) and establish a national quality standard enforced by regulators. A stricter National Council for Vocational Education and Training (hereinafter referred to as “NCVET”) could offer to accredit programs and inspect training institutes across the country. Public authorities should also be allowed to work with industry to coordinate training and systematically evaluate performance.
- Encouragements for Industry Engagement: Provide an inducement for firms to train by providing them with tax incentives or support. For example, firms would be able to take a tax deduction for expenses associated with certified training or benefit from accelerated depreciation if they establish learning labs. The public sector could also specify they would like even categorization of expenditure as the Corporate Social Responsibility (hereinafter referred to as “CSR”) funds that firms are already required to spend definition to include accredited training or apprenticeships as an eligible spend in CSR programs or partnerships. Moreover, there would be provisions within contracts – particularly in the public procurement space – for prime vendors to train a stipulated percentage of local workers or apprentices. Industry associations could facilitate sector-specific deals to drive engagement in certain sectors.
- Public-Private Partnerships: Scale public-private partnerships by providing the public sector a level of government investment which could be a complement to generated skill development funds to provide skill development infrastructure and co-create skill development and training curriculum. Foster mentorship roles in an engineering or mentoring project where seasoned engineers train young workers (like in defense or special space skill development need) in the community to camouflage and scale engagement. Use of digital platforms (like the Skill India Digital Hub) to enlist providers to infuse micro-credentials or one-off modules or courses that provide recognitions from employers.
- Quality Assurance and Regulation: Strengthen quality assurance so that certification equates with individual competency. This could involve: (i) aligning training with professional licensing or eligibility for government employment, (ii) requiring frequent curriculum amendments from industry, and (iii) providing training center performance data in a public-facing report. The development of the NSQF into a lifelong learning credit framework is a credible vehicle for the portability of training.
- Awareness and Career Guidance: Finally, the government should proactively create awareness of training opportunities (through career counselors in secondary schools, rural skill camps etc.) so that the expectations of worker rights are understood. Sector-wide vocational guidance as part of a public employment services will better facilitate the navigation of training and re-engagement of benefits for the individual.
AMLEGALS REMARKS
Upskilling and retraining is not just an option, it is a necessity for India’s workforce. Automation, AI, and ongoing digital transformation are disrupting workforces and labor markets, and the ability to adjust through continuous learning is the only protection against extinction. While government programs and companies’ initiatives have laid the groundwork for this, the sheer scale of India’s workforce will need a more robust legal framework.
Recognizing training and re-skilling as a legal right would not only reflect the spirit of the Constitution’s Directive Principles but would also further India’s economic aspirations to become a global hub for talent. As India attempts to reconcile the disconnect between education and employability, it will need to move past thinking of training as a welfare program and move it towards a hard entitlement.
For any queries or feedback, feel free to connect with mridusha.guha@amlegals.com