The National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET), under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), on Tuesday convened the first meeting of its Research Advisory Committee (RAC) to strengthen research-driven policymaking in India’s vocational education and training ecosystem. The meeting was chaired by Smt. Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, MSDE and Chairperson of NCVET. Senior representatives from government bodies, industry, academia, think tanks and research organisations participated in the discussions, including NITI Aayog, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Directorate General of Training (DGT), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), IIM Calcutta, NCAER, TISS, Ashoka University and NIEPA.
The committee discussed short, medium and long-term priorities for strengthening institutional collaboration, consolidating research efforts and improving regulatory effectiveness in the skilling sector. Members also stressed the need for greater participation of states, adoption of emerging technologies, skill gap analysis and inclusion of youth perspectives in the national skilling agenda. Mukherjee said research and data-driven insights would play a key role in shaping future-ready skilling policies as India moves towards becoming a global skill capital. Prof. (Dr.) Ashok Kumar Gaba, Executive Member of NCVET, said the initiative would help build globally benchmarked vocational education systems.
The proposed Research Division within NCVET aims to function as a national knowledge and research hub for vocational education, labour market analysis and policy reforms. In Guwahati, the initiative could help strengthen Assam’s growing skill development ecosystem by improving industry-linked training, employability and workforce planning, especially in sectors such as hospitality, logistics, tea, tourism and emerging digital services.
