New Delhi: India is embarking on one of its most ambitious efforts to overhaul the country’s industrial training ecosystem, with the government’s Prime Minister’s Scheme for Upgradation of Industrial Training Institutes (PM-SETU) seeking to transform hundreds of ITIs and bring vocational education closer to the needs of modern industry.

But as the programme moves from policy ambition to implementation, a more important question is emerging: Will PM-SETU transform ITI campuses—or transform the lives and career prospects of the young people who study in them?

According to DD India, one year after the launch of PM-SETU, 850 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) have been identified for transformation. The selected institutions include 172 Hub ITIs and 678 Spoke ITIs, creating a network-based approach to upgrading vocational training infrastructure and capabilities.

The scheme has a proposed outlay of ₹60,000 crore, with funding expected to come from the Centre, State governments and industry.

The scale of the proposed investment is significant. More importantly, PM-SETU attempts to address one of the long-standing weaknesses of India's vocational education system: the disconnect between what young people learn in training institutions and what employers actually need.

From Traditional Trades to New-Age Skills

India's labour market is changing rapidly. Automation, artificial intelligence, electric mobility, semiconductor manufacturing, drones, robotics, cybersecurity and green technologies are creating new occupational opportunities while simultaneously changing the skills required for existing jobs.

PM-SETU seeks to position ITIs within this changing economic landscape.

Under the transformation agenda, ITIs are expected to become more closely aligned with emerging industry requirements, with new-age areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, electric vehicles, semiconductors, drones, cybersecurity and green hydrogen increasingly becoming part of the vocational training ecosystem.

This represents an important shift.

For decades, ITIs have played a critical role in providing technical and vocational training to millions of young Indians, particularly those who do not pursue conventional university education. Yet many institutions have struggled with outdated equipment, ageing infrastructure, limited industry exposure and curricula that have not always kept pace with technological change.

Modernising these institutions is therefore necessary.

But it is not sufficient.

The Real Test Begins After the ITI Gate

A new laboratory, upgraded workshop or modern classroom can improve the learning environment. It cannot, by itself, guarantee that a student will find meaningful employment.

That distinction should be at the heart of how PM-SETU is evaluated.

The ultimate question is not simply:

How many ITIs were upgraded?

It is:

What happened to the students who trained there?

Did they secure apprenticeships?

Did they get placed in jobs relevant to their training?

Did their wages increase?

Did employers actually recruit from these institutions?

Did students receive opportunities for further upskilling?

Did a three-year-old ITI graduate have a clearer career pathway than a student entering the institution before the transformation?

These are the indicators that will determine whether the ₹60,000-crore ambition translates into genuine social and economic impact.

Industry Participation Could Be the Game Changer

One of the most important aspects of PM-SETU is its emphasis on industry participation.

For vocational education to work effectively, training institutions cannot operate in isolation from the companies that ultimately employ their graduates.

Industry involvement can help ITIs understand changing occupational requirements, introduce relevant technologies, support curriculum development, provide equipment and trainers, create apprenticeship opportunities and establish clearer pathways from classroom learning to employment.

This is particularly important in sectors where technology is changing faster than traditional curriculum cycles.

An ITI training students for electric vehicle maintenance, semiconductor-related operations, industrial automation or drone technology needs a close understanding of what employers actually expect from entry-level workers.

Without that connection, even a well-funded programme risks producing certificates faster than it produces careers.

From Certificate-Driven Training to Career-Driven Skills

India has invested heavily in expanding access to skilling and vocational education. The next stage of the country's skilling journey needs to focus more aggressively on outcomes.

A certificate is an input.

A job is an outcome.

An apprenticeship is an outcome.

Higher earnings are an outcome.

Career progression is an outcome.

For disadvantaged and lower-income families, this distinction is particularly important.

For many young people, an ITI is not simply an educational institution. It may be their most affordable route into the formal economy.

A student who cannot afford several years of traditional higher education may depend on vocational training to acquire a marketable skill, enter an apprenticeship and begin earning.

That makes the quality and relevance of ITI training a question not only of education policy, but also of social mobility.

Measuring What Happens After Graduation

The transformation of 850 ITIs provides an opportunity to build a much stronger accountability framework around vocational education.

PM-SETU's performance should ultimately be tracked through a transparent set of employment and career indicators.

These could include:

• Apprenticeship conversion rates
• Placement rates within six and twelve months of graduation
• Median starting salaries
• Employment retention after one year
• Industry participation in curriculum and training
• Employer satisfaction with graduates
• Women’s participation and employment outcomes
• Transition from apprenticeship to permanent employment
• Number of students progressing to higher-level technical qualifications
• Income growth among graduates
• Demand for newly introduced technology-oriented trades

Such metrics would provide a much clearer picture of whether ITI modernisation is actually delivering value to students and employers.

The country should also distinguish between placement and meaningful employment.

A short-term job that has little connection to a student's training and offers no pathway for progression should not carry the same weight as sustained employment with opportunities for skill development and wage growth.

The Gender Question Cannot Be Ignored

The success of the ITI transformation should also be judged by whether it expands opportunities for young women.

India's female labour-force participation remains a major economic and social policy issue. Modern vocational education can potentially create new entry points into sectors that have traditionally been male dominated.

Electric mobility, electronics manufacturing, semiconductor production, digital services, precision manufacturing, healthcare technology and other emerging sectors could create opportunities for women if training institutions, workplaces and apprenticeship systems are designed to support their participation.

This means that the transformation of ITIs cannot be limited to equipment and curriculum.

It must also address accessibility, safety, mobility, workplace readiness and employer practices.

₹60,000 Crore Demands an Outcomes Culture

The proposed ₹60,000-crore investment makes PM-SETU too important to be judged primarily by construction and procurement milestones.

India has already demonstrated that it can build institutions, programmes and training infrastructure at scale.

The harder challenge is ensuring that those investments translate into productive employment and higher incomes.

The danger in any large infrastructure-led transformation is that physical outputs become easier to measure than human outcomes.

A new laboratory can be counted.

A refurbished workshop can be photographed.

A new machine can be installed.

But whether a 19-year-old graduate from a small-town ITI earns more, finds stable employment and builds a sustainable career is harder to measure—and far more important.

A Chance to Reposition ITIs in India’s Growth Story

If implemented effectively, PM-SETU could help change the perception of vocational education in India.

ITIs have sometimes been viewed as an alternative for students who do not pursue conventional academic pathways. The future should be different.

A modern ITI can become a direct gateway into India's industrial growth story.

As India expands manufacturing, electronics, electric mobility, renewable energy, defence production, digital infrastructure and advanced technologies, the country will require a large workforce with practical, job-ready technical skills.

That workforce cannot be created exclusively through universities.

India needs technicians, machine operators, maintenance specialists, electricians, automation technicians, EV technicians, electronics specialists, cybersecurity professionals and a wide range of other skilled workers.

A stronger ITI system can help fill that gap.

The Verdict Will Be Written by Students and Employers

PM-SETU represents a major opportunity to rethink India's vocational education architecture.

The identification of **850 ITIs—172 Hub institutions and 678 Spoke institutions—**is an important step. The proposed ₹60,000-crore investment gives the programme the financial scale required for meaningful transformation.

But infrastructure should be treated as the beginning, not the destination.

The real measure of success will be visible outside the ITI campus—in factories, workshops, laboratories, offices, startups and businesses where graduates begin their working lives.

India should therefore ask a simple question at every stage of PM-SETU:

Is this investment improving the career prospects of the young person standing at the centre of it?

If the answer is yes, PM-SETU could become far more than an ITI modernisation programme. It could become a major engine of employment, productivity and social mobility.

If the answer is no, India risks creating modern campuses without modern career outcomes.

The message is therefore straightforward:

Upgrade the ITIs, yes. But more importantly, upgrade the future of the people inside them.

For PM-SETU, the most important infrastructure is not the building.

It is the pathway from skill to apprenticeship, from apprenticeship to employment, and from employment to a better life.