BW Businessworld Features Sabina Dewan on Why Inclusive Skilling And AI Matter For India’s Workforce Future

Joining industry and policy leaders virtually, Sabina Dewan painted a sobering picture of India’s skills challenge — highlighting that only about 4.1% of the workforce reports having formal skills. With nearly 370 million young people in the 15–29 age group, she underscored the sheer scale and urgency of the task ahead.

Sabina emphasised that young people today will need to skill and reskill continuously.

🗨️ “Our education and training systems are still not aligned with the pace of change in labour markets.”

Pointing to the National Education Policy 2020 and growing industry participation in apprenticeships and internships as positive steps, she stressed that sustained collaboration between government, industry, and academia is essential for long-term impact.

The session, “Building Inclusive & Future-Ready Talent Pipelines: Skilling, Diversity, and Workforce Empowerment for Emerging Businesses,” was moderated by Arijit Ray, Chief Executive Officer & Founder, THE UNLOCK COMPANY.

𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀:

🔹 Sabina Dewan, Founder & Executive Director, JustJobs Network

🔹 Arpita Mukherjee, Professor, ICRIER

🔹 Gayatri Das, Head – Talent Attraction & Engagement, PepsiCo India

🔹 Anil Sahni, Vice President & Head Human Resources, ART Housing Finance (India) Ltd

🔹 Deepak Boora, Director, Data Security Council of India

The panel discussion reinforced that meaningful skilling must move beyond short-term certifications to focus on adaptability, practical exposure, and sustained collaboration — particularly as automation and AI (Artificial Intelligence) transform job roles across sectors.

🔗 Read the full BW Businessworld article here.