Taking note of acute shortage of skilled labour force that could severely impact country's productivity and GDP growth, the labour and employment ministry in collaboration with International Labour Organisation (ILO) has initiated the process for National Skills Development Policy. The policy will set the skill development agenda, provide strategies and combine needs and perceptions of industry, labour force and other stakeholders. It will address demand and supply, equity related issues; and ensure access to skill development that is inclusive in terms of gender, social divide, schedule caste and schedule tribe and minorities and other backward classes. According to the government estimates, included in the draft National Employment Policy, a copy of which is available with The Indian Express, around 457 million people in the labour force need to acquire new skills or upgrade their skills. The current capacity of the government-run technical and vocational education training (TVET) programmes is 2.5 million, while each year 12.8 million are added to the total workforce. Of these 12.8 million, almost 10 million of the workforce does not possess any skills. It is alarming to note that only 5 per cent of the youth between the age group of 20-24 possess vocational skills, while this figure is 28 per cent in Mexico, 78 per cent in Germany, 79 per cent in Canada, 80 per cent in Japan and 96 per cent in Korea. If the age limit is relaxed to include those between 15 and 29 years, the figure further falls to a mere 2 per cent. The report is critical of the approach taken by government programmes which are focussed exclusively on organised sector. It notes that the available skill development opportunities, including those provided by government programmes, exclude the unorganised sector that employs over 90 per cent of the workforce.