Social Security Programmes (SSPs) include government schemes targeting poor and vulnerable population groups for employment generation, food and cash transfer, education and skill development, health and nutritional support, vulnerability and risk reduction, etc. A substantial amount of public expenditure, estimated at 14.2 per cent of the budget and 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018-19, is directed towards SSPs. The existing literature and international experiences suggest that effective workfare schemes (WFS) under SSPs have been successful in generating employment. However, the impact of these programmes on the job market, e.g. matching the demand for workers trained by WFS by the labour market or private sector, has not been examined yet. This study aims to assess whether SSP workfare programmes contribute to increasing the skills of beneficiaries; examine whether and to what extent the private sector is experiencing a shortage of semi-skilled labour; and suggest policy avenues to improve WFS supportive of skills development to thus help address the shortage of skilled labour force.



