As the country launches itself on a higher growth trajectory but with rising unemployment, a report says that unemployability is a bigger crisis than unemployment.

"About 53 per cent of employed youth suffer some degree of skill deprivation while only 8 per cent of youth are unemployed," says India Labour Report 2007.

The report prepared by one of India's largest staffing company, TeamLease Services, adds, "57 per cent of India's youth suffer some degree of unemployability."

It adds that India has joined the big league of a trillion-dollar economy, despite a high level of unemployment and illiteracy.

Noting that the present education system needs to be improved, the report says, "90 per cent of employment opportunities require vocational skills but 90 per cent of our college/school output has bookish knowledge."

The report also points out that 300 million youth will enter the labour force by 2025 and 25 per cent of the world's workers in the next four years will be Indians.

"The skill deficit hurts more than the infrastructure deficit because it sabotages equality of opportunity and amplifies inequality while poor infrastructure maintains inequality (it hits rich and poor equally)," it adds.

"The unfinished education and training reform agenda denies our youth the economic equivalent of a right to vote. It perpetuates inequality of opportunity because unemployability is now a bigger problem than unemployment," says Manish Sabharwal, chairman, TeamLease Services.

"Repairing this needs money (10 per cent of GDP) but money not accompanied by structural change will be ineffective; we not only need more cooks in the kitchen but a different recipe," Sabharwal adds. The skill deficit is more damaging than the infrastructure deficit but it's financing and delivery has seen less policy action, he adds.

Pointing out that the penetration level of our education system is low, the report adds that in the working age group of 15-60, almost 40 per cent of the population is not literate.

Thrusting the need for vocational training the report says that only 7 per cent of the population in the 15-29 age group has received some form of vocational training.

"Globally, two broad approaches have been followed towards achieving enhanced employability. The first one dealing with reforms in the education system accompanied with a second approach of creating an enhanced focus on ensuring lifelong learning opportunities for the nation's working group," says the report.

It adds that unless basic principles are integrated into the systems and specific strategies set out to raise the employability of the growing workforce, the mirage of 'a large pool of skilled labour' in India will continue to place brakes on growth.

The report also states that the Indian human resource pyramid has to be based on a strong and vibrant school education system.  Any changes made to higher education establishments will not bear the desired outcome if schools across the country fail to throw up a large base of well-trained youth.

"As a natural growth pattern, this strong base then needs to be given adequate options towards vocational training.  The critical pillar in the strategy to tackle the employability challenge is thus the school education system. The next is vocational training," the report says.