According to the India Employment Report 2024 (Hindustan Times, 2024), 83 per cent of the youth (under 34) were unemployed in 2022. Prolonged youth unemployment is associated with a higher risk of mental health conditions later in life (Brydsten et al., 2018), and the effects are “scarring” that can persist even after re-employment (Clark et al., 2001). There is a strong association between unemployment and suicide – a study found that suicide for unemployed people is nine times higher than for the general population (Parliament of Australia, 2023).

To address this, we recommend preparing adolescents early, before entering the workforce full-time, through workplace-based internships, which will “motivate acquisition of work-relevant skills and provide for disadvantaged youth the discipline and guidance which is often missing in their homes or high schools” (Kautz et al., 2014). Internships can also be pivotal in creating multiple pathways for students, which has been shown to reduce the likelihood of ‘disconnection’ (Tatum et al., 2019).