The government has amended the apprenticeship act to increase the scope of employment and bridge the existing skill gap. Read on to learn more.
Government amends Apprenticeship Act to boost hiring in the monsoon season
Whats in the news!
The government has been undertaking steps to increase the scope of employment and bridge the skill gap. The amended Apprenticeship Act enables small scale to large scale firms to hire and deploy more apprentices throughout the contract interval. This has boosted apprentice hiring upto 15%.
The amendments made in the apprenticeship act is particularly aimed to enhance and improve the level of skill development in India. Additionally, it aims to improve flexibility of employment in the Indian companies. It has expanded the scope of apprenticeship hiring, thus enabling Indian companies to ensure flexible hiring.
According to Economic Times, companies including public sector train only 2.5 to 3% apprentices of the total workforce, therefore, the number of trained apprentices remains very low in India.
The amendments allow educational and training institutions to engage with apprenticeships. The government have taken initiative to simplify the guidelines and procedures for implementing apprenticeship program. This encourages basic training to individuals via online and offline mediums.
The government of India through amendments to Apprenticeship Act aims to increase the number of apprenticeships in the next few years by five times. The need to make amendments in the Act was due to the dynamic nature of the workplace.
About Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship Act
Apprenticeship is a skill development program enacted in 1961, wherein an individual person gets engaged with an organization as an apprentice and gains work exposure while they learn, for a specific contract period. The apprenticeship act was enacted to train and engage with the apprentices. It was meant to meet the increasing demand for skills and address skill shortage in the industry. According to the apprenticeship act, any provisions or industry can undertake an apprenticeship program.
Objective of Apprenticeship Program
- Address the increasing skill demand in the Indian job market
- Meet the increasing need for skilled and proficient workers
- To provide experimental training to unskilled workers through work exposure
Significant amendments made in apprenticeship act
Amendments are made in the apprenticeship act to ensure that the program is implemented effectively. Here are some of the main changes made in the apprenticeship act.
- The definition of workers has been widened to include agency and contractual workers.
- Electronic record keeping and information systems have been introduced through a portal. Maintenance of records and information are to be done online.
- The process of assessing the strength and competence of the apprentice has been amended in the act.
- The penalty for violating the apprenticeship act has been amended to fine as the only punishment.
The changes are made in the apprenticeship act to encourage employers to hire more apprentices and engage with apprenticeship program as well as to encourage businesses to abide by the provisions of the apprenticeship act.
Apprentices and their benefits
Apprentices are the individuals who are undertaking training from a particular organization under an apprenticeship scheme during the said period. An individual who has attained the age of 14 years and above can be an apprentice. For any organization or trade where there are safety concerns, the age limit of an apprentice is 18 years.
Benefits of being an apprentice
- Earning while learning
- Gains government recognized certification
- Get real life work exposure & work experience
- Gets ongoing and personalized support from employer
- Develops existing skill and improves employability
Duties and responsibilities of an apprentice
- An apprentice must work with outmost awareness and attentiveness to quality as a skilled professional
- The apprentice must undertake instructional and practical sessions given by the employer and work accordingly
- They must abide with the law as stated in the apprenticeship act and complete the duration as specified by the employer
- All the responsibilities and duties in the assigned role must be carried out by the apprentice as per apprenticeship agreement.
Duties and responsibilities of an employer
- It is the responsibility of the employer to provide a copy of the apprenticeship agreement with the apprentice agreeing to enter into contract with 30 days
- It is the duty of the employer to provide training program or assign a guide to apprentice along with other provisions prescribed by the government.
- The apprentice must be provided with adequate training and guidance as per the terms mentioned in the apprenticeship agreement.
- The apprentices must be provided with adequate and instructions to complete the required tasks.
- The employer must provide a minimum wage to apprentice engaged as per minimum wage law.
- The apprentice maybe allowed to take leaves as per the policy of the organization.
- Certain provisions such as the Factories Act, welfare, safety and fitness is applicable to the apprentice and trainee.
- The apprentice is liable to get compensated if any workplace injuries occur during the contract period.
- The employer is liable to compensate an apprentice for any non public accidents occurred during the duration of apprenticeship period as per Workmen’s Act 1923.
Learn more about the duties and responsibilities of an employer during apprenticeship program.
How apprenticeship is a good opportunity for employers?
Apprenticeship programs are taken into account vastly by employers to close the existing skill gap and increase worker productivity as a minimum cost. Additionally, it enables the employers to reduce the rate of attrition in the organization.
The staffing agencies have witnessed a rise in apprenticeship hiring, especially in healthcare, hospitality, e-commerce and IT industries. Currently, 95% of licensed apprentices are in formal employment of which 40% of them are provided with permanent recruitment after completion of the contract.
It allows the employer to attract top talent and hire competent employees capable enough to take on higher positions in the organization. The apprenticeship program also ensures that the training programs are as per the standards. Additionally, the cost of training the employees also get minimized due to the reduced rate of employee turnover. Training and skilling individuals under apprenticeship schemes serves as an investment for the future.
If you are looking forward to engaging apprentices or implementing an apprenticeship program, 2COMS might help to attain it smoothly.
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