Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy during Lok Sabha question hour said public sector undertakings (PSUs) or corporate in technical and services sectors would be given Rs 18,000 by the government for each apprentice hired by them. He said that the Ministry has set a target for 50 lakh youth to undergo apprenticeship in three years’ time in PSUs and corporate houses.
“We have set aside Rs 10,000 crore for the apprenticeship programme. The money will be given directly to the PSUs or the private organisations for offering the apprenticeship to eligible youths,” he said.
Around three crore youths undergo apprenticeship in China and two crore in Japan, but in India only 2.5 lakh youths undergo apprenticeship, Rudy said.
The minister said those PSUs and private organisations which facilitate apprenticeship for two years will be given Rs 18,000 for each candidate. The Union Cabinet had on July 5 approved a National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme. The scheme has an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore with a target of 50 lakh apprentices to be trained by 2019-20.
The scheme would be implemented by Director General of Training (DGT) under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). It provides for incentivizing employers to engage apprentices and 25% of the total stipend payable to an apprentice would be shared with employers directly by the Central government.
The government claims that it is for the first time that a scheme has been designed to offer financial incentives to employers to engage apprentices. In addition, it also supports basic training, which is an essential component of apprenticeship training. Under the scheme, 50% of the total expenditure incurred on providing basic training would be supported by the Central government.
The scheme is expected to catalyse the entire apprenticeship ecosystem in the country and become one of the most powerful skill-delivery vehicles in the country.
Apprenticeship training is considered to be one of the most efficient ways to develop skilled manpower for the country. It provides for an industry-led, practice-oriented, effective and efficient mode of formal training.
The National Policy of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship launched in 2015 focuses on apprenticeship as one of the key components for creating skilled manpower in India. The present scheme also aims to achieve the objective as stated in the National Policy of 2015.
