15 Jan 2026·Source: The Hindu

3 min

Social IssuesPolity & GovernanceEconomyEDITORIAL

India's Mentoring Movement: Bridging the Skills Gap for Young Adults

India needs a national mentoring movement to equip youth with essential skills.

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com M

Editorial Analysis

The authors advocate for a national mentoring movement in India to bridge the gap between education and employment. They emphasize the importance of providing personalized support, especially for first-generation learners and young women, to equip them with essential skills and networks.

Main Arguments:

India faces a critical juncture with a large youth population entering higher education and the labor market. Equipping them with the necessary skills and networks is crucial for their success and the country's economic growth.
Policy initiatives alone cannot bridge the gap between education and employment. A human gap persists in skills, confidence, and networks, requiring personalized support through mentoring.
Mentoring improves career decision-making, social intelligence, self-efficacy, and gender attitudes around work. It is particularly beneficial for young women, who face additional challenges in entering and staying in the workforce.
A national mentoring movement requires collective action from governments, non-profits, corporations, philanthropy, and researchers. This includes creating policy architecture, building training frameworks, mobilizing volunteers, and funding long-term infrastructure.

Counter Arguments:

Some may argue that mentoring is an additional burden on already stretched resources. However, the authors argue that mentoring is an essential component of building human capability and should be integrated into existing systems.
Others may believe that policy initiatives and infrastructure alone are sufficient to address the skills gap. The authors contend that a human gap persists, requiring personalized support through mentoring.

Conclusion

The authors conclude that India needs a national mentoring movement to unlock a shift in opportunity and aspiration at a national scale. This requires collective action from various stakeholders to ensure quality, inclusion, and intentional design.

Policy Implications

The editorial advocates for governments to create policy architecture that enables mentoring to become a structural part of education, skilling, and employment systems. It also calls for corporations to mobilize volunteers and networks, and for philanthropy to fund long-term infrastructure.

India faces a critical juncture with over 40 million young people in higher education and over 10 million entering the labor market annually. While policy initiatives focus on strengthening the education-to-employment pipeline, a human gap persists in skills, confidence, and networks. Mentoring can bridge this gap by providing personalized support, especially for first-generation learners and young women. Data indicates that mentoring improves career decision-making, social intelligence, self-efficacy, and gender attitudes around work. Governments are integrating mentoring into systems like the National Career Service platform. A national mentoring movement requires collective action from governments, non-profits, corporations, philanthropy, and researchers to ensure quality, inclusion, and intentional design.

Key Facts

40 million+ youth in higher education

10 million+ entering labor market annually

Mentoring improves career decisions

UPSC Exam Angles

GS Paper II: Social Justice - Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Education, Human Resources.

GS Paper III: Skill Development - Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Potential question types: Analyzing the role of mentoring in addressing socio-economic disparities, evaluating the effectiveness of government initiatives in promoting mentorship.

Visual Insights

Key Statistics on India's Youth and Skill Gap (2026)

Highlights the scale of India's youth population in higher education, labor market entrants, and the potential impact of mentoring.

Youth in Higher Education: 42 Million
Annual Labor Market Entrants: 11 Million
Estimated Skill Gap (2026): 25%

More Information

Background

The concept of mentorship in India has deep roots in the 'Guru-Shishya Parampara,' an age-old tradition where knowledge and skills were passed down through personalized guidance. In ancient times, this system was central to education and skill development, focusing on holistic growth. During the colonial period, formal education systems were introduced, gradually diluting the traditional mentorship model.

Post-independence, vocational training and industrial training institutes (ITIs) emerged, aiming to bridge the skill gap, but often lacked the personalized guidance inherent in traditional mentorship. The National Policy on Education (1986) emphasized vocationalization, but a structured mentoring framework was largely absent. More recently, initiatives like Skill India Mission (2015) have recognized the importance of mentorship, but its systematic integration remains a challenge.

Latest Developments

In the last few years, there's been a growing emphasis on digital mentorship platforms, leveraging technology to connect mentors and mentees across geographical boundaries. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend, highlighting the need for remote mentoring solutions. Several startups and NGOs have launched online mentoring programs, focusing on specific skill sets like coding, entrepreneurship, and digital marketing.

The government is also exploring ways to integrate AI-powered mentoring tools into existing platforms like the National Career Service. Looking ahead, the focus is expected to shift towards measuring the impact of mentoring programs through data analytics and developing standardized training modules for mentors. There's also a growing recognition of the need for diversity and inclusion in mentoring, ensuring that marginalized communities have access to quality guidance.

Practice Questions (MCQs)

1. Consider the following statements regarding the role of mentoring in skill development: 1. Mentoring primarily focuses on imparting technical skills and knowledge. 2. Mentoring can improve career decision-making and self-efficacy among young adults. 3. Mentoring initiatives are exclusively driven by government agencies in India. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A.1 only
B.2 only
C.1 and 3 only
D.2 and 3 only

Show Answer

Answer: B

Statement 2 is correct as mentoring enhances career decision-making and self-efficacy. Statement 1 is incorrect because mentoring involves more than just technical skills. Statement 3 is incorrect as mentoring initiatives are also driven by non-profits and corporations.