Apprenticeship is a powerful tool to skill people and build talent.

Boosting apprenticeship is imperative to leverage the demographic dividend in the state: India Apprenticeship Forum

Chennai, 27^th July, 2019:

India Apprenticeship Forum in collaboration with NETAP [National Employability through Apprenticeship Programme, India’s fastest growing apprenticeship programme offered by TeamLease Skills University in a Public Private Partnership Ministry with Human Resource Development and Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship hosted a dialogue on ‘Leveraging the power of apprenticeship for creating human capital” in Chennai today. The event witnessed corporate emphasizing the need for strengthening the apprenticeship eco-system in the state.

Held at Taj Coromandel, the discussion was graced by eminent dignitaries from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship - Government of India, National Skill Development Corporation, TeamLease Skills University as well as leading corporates. The key note address was delivered by Ms. Anita Srivastava, Joint Director, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India. The session opened with case presentations by Dr. C. Jayakumar, Vice President & Head Human Resources - Divisional Corporate, L&T Construction and Mr. M. Mohan, DGM, Rane TRW Steering Systems Private Limited.

Sharing her views on apprenticeship in India, Ms. Anita Srivastava, Joint Director, Ministry of Skill Development And Entrepreneurship, Government of India, said; “Apprenticeship is a powerful tool to skill people and build talent. The government has undertaken many initiatives over the last few years to make the ecosystem more conducive for employers to adopt and execute apprenticeships. Recently many additional amendments have been made to benefit small and medium enterprises. We would urge more and more employers to come forward and take up apprenticeships to fulfil their skill requirements. India Apprenticeship Forum is good platform which is generating awareness about apprenticeship and we are hopeful that this will all lead to a positive adoption of the model by employers in the state.”

Addressing the session, Mr. Sumit Kumar, Vice President, TeamLease Skills University said, “Employability is a far greater problem than unemployment. While skill development initiatives in Tamil Nadu have been doing their bit, it is far from desirable.  Addressing the employability gap and aiding corporate to take advantage of the demographic dividend will require encouraging employers to adopt the on-the-job training module. Policy makers across the world have recognized ‘learning by doing’ and ‘learning while earning’ as a very important vehicle for tackling the skill crisis. Apprenticeships can assist employers to combat high attrition issues in the state, especially in industries like manufacturing, automotive and industrial infrastructure. It will also significantly address the skill deficit by training candidates as per industry requirements.”

The event witnessed a panel discussion moderated by Mr. Surajit Roy, Senior Head at Apprenticeship Division at National Skill Development Corporation, wherein industry leaders discussed the everyday challenges that they face. The panel comprised of Dr. Jude Xavier, Vice President & Head HR, Technosoft Global; Mr.​Sumeet Kharbanda,​Deputy General Manager, Hyundai Motor India Pvt. Ltd and Dr. A.V. Sivarama Prasad, Executive President (HRD & Services), The KCP Ltd.

The platform also had deliberations on the current state of apprenticeship as well as how the situation can be improved. According to experts apprenticeship has been a fundamental sub part of skill development across the globe. However in India, only 4% of the labor force is formally trained unlike in China which has 84% apprentices. While the government has been making efforts to make the environment conducive it’s still a work in progress. A holistic interaction, the session also witnessed corporate urging the need to bring about a shift in the way apprenticeship is practised. They called for ‘ease of doing apprenticeships’. The session also urged the need for consolidating all work based learning programs and employability schemes under one jurisdiction, and recognizing them under Apprentices ACT as well as providing monetary rewards to employers to absorb apprentices are pivotal requirements for the industry. India has 71 million registered enterprises and even if 10% of these enterprises start deploying apprentices, 7 million enterprises will make a huge impact to apprentices head count.

ABOUT TEAMLEASE SKILLS UNIVERSITY (TLSU)

TeamLease Skills University (TLSU) located in Vadodara, Gujarat, is India’s first “Skills University” established under Public–Private Partnership between the Government of Gujarat and TeamLease Services - India's largest manpower, recruitment & staffing solutions Company that has placed more than 1.7+ million people in India over the last few years. It is notified as a Private University by Govt. of Gujarat by Gazette Notification under the Gujarat Private Universities (Amendment) Act w.e.f. 22nd April’ 2013 and is promoted by TeamLease Education Foundation. In FY2015, TeamLease rolled out NETAP (National Employability through Apprenticeship Program) to provide on-the-job training to unemployed youth. TLSU aims to provide a holistic education through traditional & non-traditional programs focusing on academic, vocational, professional, technical and life skills – all aimed at making graduates “job-ready” from day-1. TLSU vision is to contribute to workforce productivity, socio-economic development and social harmony through well rounded and industry relevant educational programs with employment at the heart of academic offerings, technology at the heart of operation and academic mobility as the focus deploying inclusive, distributed and low cost delivery methodology.

ABOUT INDIAN APPRENTICESHIP FORUM

India Apprenticeship Forum is the first and the only, online, independent , nonprofit platform created to deliver the much needed clarity on apprenticeships and vocational skills training as crucial pathways to address the country’s skills challenges. The IAF has its finger on the pulse of skill building and its many facets across sectors such as manufacturing, Retail, e commerce, Logistics, Hospitality, Health Care to name a few.  IAF mission is to become a change agent in the way employers perceive apprenticeships. IAF is one-stop repository of comprehensive, impartial and industry relevant material to engage, educate, debate and discuss the latest in apprenticeships and vocational skills.

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