Today customary workplace practices have changed drastically due to globalisation and technological advancements, with an accompanying shift in demand in the skills required by employers. Employers expect employees to possess relevant personality traits and employability skills to accommodate the ever changing demands of work. Equipping learners with appropriate skills to enter the workforce is increasingly seen as a requirement of education. However, little has been done to assess the learners’ perception of their own employability skills. It is important to understand and bridge the gap between what is delivered by institutions and how learners understand and perceive employability within their programmes and courses. More so for the learners in Open and Distance education who are isolated, highly heterogeneous and geographically dispersed. // This paper highlights an exploratory study on the perception of learners of National Institute of Open schooling (NIOS) India, towards their own employability skills and what they believe is important for employers. It provides an insight into the skill level competence of the learners. The findings reveal that while the learners were generally competent in 10 employability skills, they were not excellently or very well competent in some employability skills indicating extensive opportunities for augmenting the skills through courses and programmes delivered by the institution. // Paper ID 198