The persistent gap between management education outcomes and industry expectations constitutes one of the most pressing structural challenges confronting Indian higher education. This study empirically assesses the employability skill profiles of management students enrolled in private universities across North India, examining six theoretically grounded skill dimensions: soft skills, verbal skills, cognitive skills, managerial skills, technical skills, and information and communication technology (ICT) skills. Adopting a concurrent mixed-methods research design, quantitative data were collected from 520 final-year MBA students across eight private universities spanning Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, and Punjab, using a validated structured questionnaire. Complementary qualitative insights were gathered through 30 semi-structured interviews with faculty members and industry HR professionals. Six formal research hypotheses were posited and empirically tested. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis (Cronbach's Alpha), Average Variance Extracted (AVE), Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis were employed for quantitative data, while Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-phase thematic analysis was applied to qualitative data. Results reveal that managerial skills (M = 3.71) and soft skills (M = 3.62) recorded the highest self-assessed means, whereas technical skills (M = 3.19) and ICT skills (M = 3.27) were critically underdeveloped relative to employer benchmarks derived from a parallel HR manager survey (N = 45). The regression model confirmed that the six-dimensional skill composite explains 68.4% of the variance in employability readiness (R² = 0.684, Adjusted R² = 0.677, F(6, 513) = 112.84, p < .001), with all six hypotheses supported. Grounded in an integrated theoretical framework drawing on Human Capital Theory, the Technology Acceptance Model, Competency-Based Education, and Constructivism, the study proposes a Contextualised Employability Skill Model (CESM) as a novel contribution. Strategic recommendations encompass curriculum redesign incorporating digital tools, formalised industry-academia partnerships, and outcome-driven competency mapping aligned with regulatory frameworks...