Vocational Education and Training (VET) is an important instrument for human capital development. Since VET programmes are field-specific and expensive, it is crucial to investigate the career of VET graduates post-training. The purpose of this paper is to understand the extent to which Indian VET graduates are employed and sustain in the vocation for which they are trained. It also examines the effect of different factors on graduates’ careers. A quantitative analysis, of employment data gathered from 227 graduates of 13 government VET institutes in Mumbai, was conducted. Two numerical scores were assigned to the data, namely, Immediate Employability Score (IES) and Trade Sustenance Score (TSS). The effect of personal, academic, training, institutional factors, and income on these scores was analysed using tests of correlation and logistic regression. The findings comprise a profile of the graduates in terms of their immediate employability and trade sustenance. Examination year, trade pursued, and completion of apprenticeship affected the immediate employability of VET graduates. Completion of apprenticeship training had a significant role in ensuring the long-term sustenance of graduates in the trade for which they were trained. This study presents two novel scores to quantify the employability and trade sustenance of VET graduates, respectively. It also empirically tests the effect of different factors on these two aspects of graduates’ careers. Thereby, it is a valuable addition to the fields of VET, educational evaluation, and career development. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Indian Society of Labour Economics.
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