Why Rethinking Skilling is Key to Worker Wellbeing, Productivity, and Growth

Insights from LabourNet and UrbanEthnographers on closing gaps in training, retention, and career progression for women and migrant workers.

The Gender Champions Consortium held its fourth Convening last month, in collaboration with LabourNet and UrbanEthnographers, on the theme ‘Skill Development and Growth’. 

The discussions highlighted a key tension in India’s auto sector: while more women are entering shopfloors and assembly lines, too few stay long enough to rise into supervisory or leadership roles. Reimagining skilling and apprenticeship programs — across curriculum, duration, location, amenities, and design — has emerged as the first step toward tackling these challenges. 

Gaps in the skilling & apprenticeship models

We sat down with members of LabourNet and UrbanEthnographers to take a deeper look into the current skilling ecosystem — examining its shortcomings as well as time-tested frameworks that can improve its efficacy.

The most glaring issue with skilling is that its impact is usually underestimated. Dr. Padmini Ram, Founder of UrbanEthnographers, observes how we need to look beyond training certification and focus on examining outcomes. She also notes that we need more industry-relevant and outcome-driven training in the market.

In contrast to the fluid and dynamic nature of entry-level jobs, training programs are rather rigid in structure. Beyond outdated curricula, most programs overlook the lived realities of workers — relocation, safety, transportation, working conditions, and more. This disconnect frequently leads to high dropout rates and low returns for companies.

The gaps we need to fill:

• Align the curricula with present-day industry needs, and make skilling modules more dynamic in nature.

• Measure their success by outcomes, not just participation certificates.

• Incorporate workers practical needs within the design of these modules.

Mr. Rajesh A R, CEO of LabourNet, points out that the lack of a clear pathway for career progression further undermines these interventions. Without proper mechanisms to track improvements in wages, productivity, and retention, these programs fail to offer workers tangible long-term benefits.

Frameworks of inclusion

UrbanEthnographers employ their TRACE framework (Tune In, Reveal the Real, Align with Frame, Craft with Credibility, and Extend the Shift) to co-design skilling interventions with employers that are closely aligned with the realities and aspirations of workers. They also advocate for migrant-aware measures such as spaces to celebrate festivals, rotation of canteen menus, basic language support, and supervisor sensitivity training. Dr. Ram emphasises that food, festivals, and language are not just cultural symbols — they are tools for fostering trust and belonging.

LabourNet, on the other hand, stresses that combining earning, learning, and productivity within one integrated system is key to a successful skilling initiative. Their demand-driven, technology-enabled, and hyperlocal approach has shown measurable results, particularly in the construction industry.

Furthermore, the adoption of digital platforms to match candidates with roles, AR/VR tools that simulate shop-floor scenarios, and the creation of digital “skills passports” have made their apprenticeship programs more targeted, scalable, and transparent.

What makes skilling work:

• Skilling initiatives work best when grounded in workers’ cultural and social realities.

• Integrated, tech-enabled models that link earning, learning, and productivity make skilling scalable and impactful.

Despite differences in their approaches, both organizations agree that worker retention and progression depend heavily on the presence of support structures such as crèches/play areas, flexible shifts, well-lit facilities, safe housing, secure transportation, and effective grievance systems.

Pathways to progression

It’s clear that skilling initiatives need to be revamped in order to better address the needs of workers and businesses. However, the best way to gauge their value is to study their effect on retention rates, wage growth, and worker productivity.

Dr. Ram underlines the potential of cohort-based recruitment and onboarding, particularly for migrant and women workers, to improve retention significantly, as it creates peer support systems and reduces isolation.

On career progression, LabourNet champions the practice of mapping growth ladders with clear linkages between skills acquired and corresponding pay increments. They argue that embedding continuous upskilling into the workplace will provide workers with transparent and reliable pathways from entry-level positions to supervisory roles.

What ensures retention & growth:

• Cohort-based hiring strengthens peer support and improves retention among women workers.

• Continuous upskilling tied to pay increments makes career progression visible and reliable.

A workplace cannot be considered inclusive if it only hires women without care responsibilities, as pointed out by Dr. Ram. Thus, bridging modules, as well as mentorship and returnship programs, are essential to enable women with care duties to re-enter the workforce and thrive.

Conclusion

Insights from LabourNet and UrbanEthnographers highlight a crucial truth — inclusive, practical skilling isn’t just the solution to high attrition and low returns, it’s the pathway to sustainable growth and worker wellbeing.

For more insights and sessions on building gender-inclusive workplaces, boosting retention, and advancing women’s leadership in the auto sector, subscribe to our newsletter for regular updates.