The problem of graduate employability has both supply and demand side aspects. Also the problem of employability and skills deficit cannot be completely delinked from the employment, unemployment and labour market conditions. Most studies look at one single aspect. In addition, massification and the experience of unemployment have challenged the Humboldtian idea of the research-oriented university and necessitated to look at the problem in a broader context of external as well as internal factors like general labour market conditions, local and global labour market demand at the macro level ;quality of education, possibilities for career counselling, provision of training courses, transition opportunities,  Demand Supply Context at the institutional level; Effectuation factors like  personal circumstances, willingness and preferences of individual employees as well as conditions and attitudes of  employers.

The present study would try to fill this gap by combining both external and internal as well as demand and supply factors affecting and influencing graduate employability. The study proposes to understand the issue of Graduate Employability and Higher Education in India along three interlinked domain at the macro, institutional and individual levels:

• Macro Economic dimensions of Educated Employment/unemployment trends
• Changing Industry demands and Dimensions of University/ Higher Education
• Individual Stake holders’ changing perceptions/expectations regarding Higher education participation and provision in terms of employment readiness.

Against the backdrop of changing employment/unemployment scenario of the educated youth in India, the study shall seek to explore the following questions.

The study shall try to explore the above questions with a focus by generating perspectives of the major stakeholders - the employers and the new employees, students and teachers. The focus shall be to understand what is their awareness regarding the concept of “employability skills”, identify the types of employability skill gaps existing among the new job entrants , the differences existing therein by gender and social groups and the expectations of the employers from the universities in preparing industry ready graduates. The study shall also try to explore the challenges the new employees experience in their work place, to what extent they are required to supplement their university education with external trainings of different nature to fill in this gap.