India is planning a nationwide assessment of adult skill levels to be conducted in 2026. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) will conduct the survey at the request of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The survey will span three months and map basic, intermediate, and advanced competencies of the population above 18 years of age.
The survey will be based on the Comprehensive Modular Survey (CMS) framework. MoSPI has previously used CMS to conduct short-duration surveys on telecom and education in 2025. The skill survey is likely to be conducted after the first quarter of 2026.
Currently, there is no dedicated data on overall skill levels in India. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) captures data on the population that has received vocational or technical training. The nationwide skill survey aims to address this gap by providing a comprehensive assessment of skill levels across the country.
The need for the survey was highlighted during a recent conference of chief secretaries, which addressed the skill gaps and low education levels prevalent in the workforce. This concern is particularly relevant as India's working-age population is expected to reach 68.9% in 2030. Currently, about three-fourths of the employed population have only basic education, and the employability rate among graduates is 54.8%.
Many companies want to grow faster, innovate more, and stay ahead of the curve, but there's one thing standing in the way: skills. The 2025 Global Skills Intelligence Survey indicates that only 10% of HR and L&D professionals believe their teams have the skills needed to meet business goals in the next one to two years.
Skills gaps are becoming a significant constraint for growth. About 28% of HR and L&D professionals say that skill gaps restrict their ability to pursue new markets or opportunities, and nearly 1 in 3 report that 41–60% of new hires arrive with critical gaps.
Employers are increasingly leveraging skills in their talent and rewards strategies to improve employee retention, enhance workforce agility, and allow greater flexibility in responding to evolving market demands. A company's success hinges on the speed at which it develops and deploys skills to work. By shifting to a skills-powered approach, businesses can drive innovation and productivity while cultivating a culture of continuous learning, adaptability, and agility.
According to the Employers Association of America's (EAA) 2025 National Business Trends Survey, there is a wave of optimism sweeping through the U.S. economy, while also highlighting critical talent-related challenges businesses must address to succeed. Seventy-eight percent of organizations expect the economy will either improve or remain unchanged. The primary obstacle to sourcing talent continues to be a shortage of qualified candidates. The top strategies to address retention challenges are adjusting pay ranges upward, focusing on existing staff receiving additional training and development, and focusing on existing staff retention in jobs where recruitment is difficult.
