Akash G just completed his ITI diploma in Electronics and Communication. At 19, he is a first-generation learner — the son of a mason, belonging to Raichur, an aspirational district in Karnataka. But what excites him most is that, with the UNDP-SAP partnership project’s support, he is among the handful of students from his college who got linked to an apprenticeship programme.

As an apprentice with a leading automobile manufacturer, Akash will be working for a year at the manufacturing unit, drawing a monthly salary of ₹15,000. “The training and experience are invaluable in the job market,” he says.

The India Skills Report 2022 reveals that employability across most education streams is in the range of 40-55 per cent. Polytechnic and ITI-trained youths like Akash suffer a lower employability of 21.42 per cent and 31.3 per cent, respectively.

In a country that has an unrivalled youth demographic, we need an effective pathway to make a smooth education to livelihood transition. Perhaps, the answer lies in creating millions of apprenticeship opportunities.

Globally, apprenticeship has been one of the proven successful tools to bridge the skill gap and create a job-ready workforce. According to ‘ROI on Apprenticeships 2021’— a report by NETAP-Teamlease Skill University — close to 60 per cent of the employers found that apprenticeships improve productivity (22 per cent) and 76 per cent feel that it helps them address attrition, as well as a 19 per cent reduction in hiring costs.

In India, however, the apprenticeship uptake is low, there are only 0.26 million apprentices despite the sustained push and support provided through flagship schemes such as the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), and National Apprenticeship Testing Scheme (NATS). This is minuscule when compared to apprenticeship opportunities the world over — 0.5 million in the UK, 3 million in Germany, 10 million in Japan, and 20 million in China.

Challenges such as lack of awareness and information, perception of over-regulation, and complex enrolment processes have led to this tepid response to apprenticeship in India. Therefore, we need to explore solutions beyond the scheme’s design. Focused adoption of the following five pathways will help.

First, introduce apprenticeship as a compulsory component of career guidance and counselling in schools, colleges and vocational institutes.

Second, make MSMEs aware that apprenticeship makes business sense: MSMEs’ active participation can shift momentum. Skill ecosystem enablers should reach out to more than one million MSMEs registered on Uddyam platform in a targeted manner to educate, encourage, and support them to hire a few apprentices per year.

Third, create strong aggregator networks and build the capacity of district-level industry associations and chambers. MSME outreach wouldn’t be successful without the proactive involvement of local industry chambers and associations. Apprenticeship promotion cells should be launched to increase the pool of apprenticeship-ready industries.

Fourth, redefine the scope of placement linkages: Apprenticeship training contracts should be counted as the placement target of the training partners under the skilling scheme’s outcome-linked funding. With the added incentive, training partners would proactively collaborate with local industries to get apprenticeship training started in new enterprises.

Finally, communicate: Lack of awareness, misconceptions that confuse apprenticeship with internships or unpaid exploitative labour, and ambiguity about the on-boarding process are the most critical roadblocks.

While Akash packs his bags to head to Bengaluru with his hopes pinned on turning his apprenticeship into a well-paying career in the automotive sector, millions of girls and boys deserve a similar opportunity.

The writer is Head, Inclusive Growth, at UNDP India

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