Author: Guest Writer

The National Employability through Apprenticeship Program (NETAP) and the India Apprenticeship Forum (IAF) partnered to organise a felicitous interactive discussion on “Leveraging the Power of Apprenticeships for Creating Human Capital” in New Delhi on 15th Feb 2019. NETAP is a multi-modal apprenticeship training program offered by TeamLease Skills University, India’s first private Skills University. The IAF is the first and only online, independent, non-profit platform with a mission to advocate apprenticeships and vocational skills training as crucial pathways to address India’s skills challenges…Read more

In our earlier blog, we stated a lack of contact with local training providers as a barrier for smaller firms. The India Skills Report 2019[i] stated an alarming drop in the employability of ITI pass-outs. Although the reason was not mentioned, among other factors it can be a fair assumption that there is possibly a big disconnect between the skills acquired by ITI pass-outs and what local employers want…Read more

The dearth of reliable data on apprenticeship make-up in the country by industry/sector/company-size/type etc makes it difficult to gauge the exact absorption of apprenticeships by MSMEs in the country. But given that India has a dismal 1 apprentice to every 1000 in the workforce,the general picture is far from optimal…Read more

SMEs employ around 40% of the country’s workforce which presents an enormous opportunity for a staggering multiplier effect in generating skills and jobs through the apprenticeship route. Apprenticeships are more widely found in medium and large enterprises (around 70%) and less in SMEs; this is the case world over…Read more

For an employer, taking on board an apprentice should not be a financial burden. Businesses the world over have reported a direct financial return investing in the training and mentoring costs of an apprentice. Where are the cost savings? Starting from business benefits derived from a productive apprentice as they learn on the job, to savings from lower recruitment costs the gains are many…Read more

This is the stuff dreams are made of. Poonam Kumari, daughter of a truck driver, went from being an unemployed high school graduate to earning Rs.20,000 a month with Café Coffee Day after a three-month coffee making training programme under the government’s Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushal Yojana (DDU-GKY) scheme. Not only has the scheme given Poonam financial independence it has honed her with world-class skills that brought her international recognition. In 2017 she bagged the first prize, a cash award of Rs. 40,000 at an international coffee making contest held in Mexico with participants from 32 countries…Read more

Digitisation can be loosely defined as the large scale proliferation and adoption of digital technologies by consumers, businesses, and governments. Some call it the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ marked by technologies such as big data, machine learning, Internet of Things, robotics, etc…Read more

Building skills is an expensive affair central to which is good data on various metrics or indicators that are integral to where skill development is most required, labour market conditions, local and state-wise factors affecting employment and skilling, and crucially, how are returns on investment in mass skilling programmes measured?…Read more

The sixth edition of the India Skills Report (2019)[i] provides insight into emerging trends and changes in the Indian jobs and skills marketplace from both demand and supply sides in skill capabilities in the country…Read more

These are findings from the Future of Work in India report[i] and its related publication Young India and Work- A Survey of Youth Aspirations.[ii] Published in October 2018 these reports turn the spotlight on what youth are aspiring for, what they value most, the challenges they face, and what businesses and decision-makers can do to bridge gaps. These should be of interest to industry and policymakers to chart out ways to effectively engage this heaving mass of young and eager populace who given the right opportunities can become an economic powerhouse…Read more

The Indian workforce is highly stratified and segmented. A strong vetting system of key indicators of skills training is tremendously valuable for policymakers when formulating effective training programmes catered to specific population needs. In Part 1 of this article, we talked about the urban-rural differences, employment, and state wise split. In Part II, we will examine the degree of formality in apprenticeship as well as NATS split and ITI split…Read more

The Indian workforce is highly stratified and segmented. A strong vetting system of key indicators of skills training is tremendously valuable for policymakers when formulating effective training programmes catered to specific population needs. Part 1 of this essay talks about the urban-rural differences, employment and state wise split. In Part II, we will examine the degree of formality in apprenticeship as well as NATS split and ITI split…Read more

The impact of digital learning such as online, multi-media and mobile content on education is far reaching as more universities and institutes adopt technology to offer a faster, more content rich and relevant access to material to its students. The ramifications of digitisation on vocational training and apprenticeships is no different. A blended learning approach where on the job or on campus training is complemented with an online multi-media experience is touted as the optimal approach for a well-rounded training experience…Read more

An estimated 3.5 lakh engineers and 2.5 million university graduates come out of the higher education system each year, with an estimated 5 million graduates out of work at any given point. Moreover, A FICCI-Ernst & Young (2012) report on skill development had forecast 50–70 million new jobs up to 2017-18, of which 75%–90% would require some form of TVET education…Read more

The latest Talent Shortage Survey by ManpowerGroup has revealed that Asia Pacific countries face the greatest talent crunch, the five of the top 10 worst affected markets being Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and India. 56 percent of Indian employers cited difficulty in filling vacant positions due to a skills mismatch…Read more

The Indian automotive industry (including component manufacturing) is projected to get to US$ 251.4-282.8 billion by 2026. The 4th largest in the world, sales in the Indian auto industry increased 9.5 per cent year-on-year to 4.02 million units (excluding two wheelers) in 2017. Domestic automobile production saw an increase of 7.08 per cent CAGR between FY13-18 where 29.07 million vehicles were manufactured in the country in 2018. April-July 2018 witnessed a production increase of 16.69 per cent year-on-year to reach 10.88 million vehicle units…Read more

In Part I of the article, we covered the foundations of an Apprenticeship Program for an organisation. In Part II, we will look at the following. Your obligations and responsibilities Financial Assistance Certifications How do you start and when What is the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) To boost the NATS and incentivise more employers to join its mission on skill building the government launched the NAPS in 2016.  NAPS has a tall ambition of training 5 million apprentices by 2022. NAPS covers all categories of apprentices except the Graduate, Technician and Technician (Vocational) apprentices which are administered by the…

The types of apprentices, what they entail and the ministries responsible for their implementation can be a big blur given the various paths available and changes at different points of time. We have demystified and unravelled some of the key elements around apprenticeships in India to help your establishment embark on its apprenticeship journey…Read more

The hitherto enormous role of unorganised players in the Indian food services sector, such as road side stalls, dhabas, is seeing a decline as market share of the unorganised segment is set to reduce from 70% in 2013 to 57% in 2022…Read More

The skills mismatch in India is obvious. Around 15 million people are said to join the country’s workforce every year over the next decade of which over 75 percent are not job ready. This somber reality is due to a skills crunch. It doesn’t help that the country has a total training capacity of only around 4.3 million…Read more

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