Nurturing Sustainable Careers: How New India’s NEP 2020 is Driving Employability Through Skills-Based Education

Abstract

As New India prepares to become a “developed” country by the year 2047, the strategies for managing one of the most populous economies in the world are undergoing steady and positive transformation. The country’s new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has set the context for enhanced employability for the masses and sustainable careers, potentially transforming the youngest workforce in the world not only by equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and abilities that the workplace demands but also by providing opportunities for inclusive, sustainable, and trans-disciplinary employment. However, given that the NEP 2020 will not succeed as a standalone initiative, this study seeks to examine 1) the many factors that enable employability in a country like India, e.g., rich human capital, the grass-roots skill gap, and what it means to pursue sustainable careers, and 2) industry-academia partnerships, e.g., how the government, educational institutions, organizations, and individuals together serve as key driving factors impacting New India’s global footprint. The paper reviews literature across these related domains and leads to a conceptual model that supports the nurturing of sustainable careers and their multifaceted nature.

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Keywords

New Education Policy (NEP), sustainable careers, employability, skill education, corporate social responsibility (CSR), learning and development