The proposed measures include exploring a link between the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) IDs and the e-Shram and National Career Service (NCS) databases, as well as introducing skilling- and employment-focused counselling for students in Classes 11 and 12.

The government is seeking to broaden school-level career guidance beyond its traditional focus on higher education by exposing students to vocational training, skilling opportunities and employment pathways at an earlier stage.

The growing policy focus on the disconnect between educational qualifications, skills and employment outcomes comes as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes entry-level white-collar work, adding to concerns about how young people transition from education to the workplace.

The government is looking to build a continuum from school to employment -- first by bringing skilling and employment options into school career counselling, and then by connecting education records with digital systems containing training, job and worker information.

The proposed database integration is intended to link information on a student’s education and skills with opportunities available through the government’s skilling and employment systems.

APAAR serves as a digital academic identity, while e-Shram maintains a database of unorganised workers and the NCS provides employment-related services, including job vacancies and career guidance. Bringing the systems together could create a digital link between education, training and employment as students move from school or higher education into the labour market.

“We are also tying up with the school education department of the education ministry. At the Class 11 and 12 level, we would like to partner with them to provide opportunities to young people aged 17 or 18. Most career counselling centres in schools focus on higher education institutions, whereas we intend to focus on the skilling and employment opportunities,” said a senior labour ministry official, who asked not to be identified.

The proposed shift would build on the vocational education framework already being expanded across school education under the National Education Policy. The Central Board of Secondary Education has introduced vocational and skill-based subjects across classes, while the National Council of Educational Research and Training’s curriculum framework envisages vocational exposure from the middle stage.

“When you pay attention to and expose a young child to the skill sector or skill-building, he or she is going to respect it more. For somebody who has already studied up to graduation, it is difficult to come back and take up that kind of work because the first intention will be to join some kind of government job,” the official said.

“In most European countries, there is this distinction after Class 8 -- if you want to enter the skill sector, you can choose to do that, whether it is plumbing, electrical work or something else. It happens from that particular point only. And so that’s why we are also tying up with the school education department and we want to do this particular exercise,” the official added.

Emails sent to the labour & employment and education ministries did not elicit a response until the time of publication.

The proposal comes against the backdrop of government research highlighting weak links between education, skills and workplace requirements. A March 2026 NITI Aayog working paper noted that learning across schools, colleges and skilling institutions remained weakly connected to workplace requirements.

A separate NITI Aayog report published in August highlighted limited practical exposure and industry linkages. That report found that 80 per cent of higher-education students cited a lack of practical experience and industry exposure as a major pain point. It proposed earlier exposure to vocational pathways as well as a Skills Passport anchored on APAAR to connect credentials, skills and work experience with jobs, apprenticeships and skilling opportunities.

The Economic Survey 2025-26 has also flagged the need to introduce vocational education earlier and better align education with labour-market requirements.

Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran recently warned that AI is increasingly taking over the junior, routine tasks through which young professionals traditionally gained workplace experience and developed judgement. He also urged young people to consider trade skills, including vocational occupations, rather than relying solely on conventional degrees as AI reshapes the entry-level job market.