TeamLease Edtech report flags placement gap as fewer than 20 percent colleges cross 75 percent within six months

Shantanu Rooj, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at TeamLease EdTech, said employability must move beyond access to degrees as only 16.67 percent institutions achieve strong placement outcomes

A recent report by TeamLease EdTech highlights a significant gap between employability intent and actual placement outcomes in India’s higher education system.
According to the findings, only 16.67 percent of institutions achieve more than 75 percent placements within six months of graduation. The study covered 1,071 institutions, including public, private and deemed universities, as well as autonomous and affiliated colleges.

The report notes that while over 90 percent of institutions plan to prioritise employability over traditional academic metrics in the coming three years, implementation remains uneven.
Soft skills training continues to be a key gap. Nearly 49.39 percent of institutions do not offer structured soft skills programmes. Only 36 percent have integrated such training into their curriculum, while 15.75 percent provide continuous learning opportunities.

Employer engagement also remains limited. Fewer than 10 percent of institutions reported very strong industry partnerships, and only 25 percent indicated strong or very strong collaboration. Alumni engagement is also low, with 43.51 percent of institutions reporting no active involvement.
Applied learning is yet to become a consistent practice. Only one in four institutions regularly includes live industry projects as part of coursework, indicating limited exposure to practical work environments.

Adoption levels vary across disciplines. Management and engineering programmes show relatively higher integration of employability practices at 68.42 percent and 60.53 percent respectively. Commerce, science, and arts programmes show slower adoption, indicating uneven progress across fields.
Shantanu Rooj, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at TeamLease EdTech, said, “The focus of higher education has traditionally been access to degrees, but the context has shifted. The real measure now is whether education improves a student’s ability to participate in the economy. The system is in transition, and the pace of change will determine its effectiveness.”
The report concludes that without embedding employability into curriculum design, teaching methods, industry partnerships and institutional governance, higher education risks falling short of workforce expectations.

At Prittle PrattleNews, featuring you virtuously, we celebrate the commitment and innovation. Led by Editor-in-Chief Smruti Bhalerao, our platform is dedicated to sharing impactful stories that inspire change and create awareness. Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for more stories that matter.