Over 51,000 Apprentices Hired In The One-Day National Apprentice Mela, More Than 5,000 Companies Across Industries Participated

The single-day National Apprenticeship Mela conducted across the country enabled the recruitment of 51,991 candidates for apprenticeship programmes. The Mela was conducted by the Directorate General of Trading (DGT) and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).

It saw participation from over 5,000 companies from more than 30 industries including power, retail, telecom, IT/ITES, electronics, automotive, etc. The key establishments include the Railways, ONGC, Tata, Maruti Udyog and many more. Additionally, small-scale industries with minimum of four working members also hired apprentices at the event.

Candidates also received the opportunity to engage and select prospects from more than 500 trades (Designated and Optional) in the Mela including posts for welder, electrician, housekeeper, beautician, mechanic, etc.

All 36 State/UT governments participated in organising the Mela. It was conducted in over 662 locations across the country. It was primarily aimed at V to XII grade pass students, skill training certificate holders, ITI students, diploma holders and graduates.

The selected candidates would be offered with competitive stipends between Rs 5,000 and Rs 9,000 per month. Further, they would also get a certification from National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET).

As per the apprenticeship rules notified by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), the payment of stipend for the first year has been fixed rather than linking it to minimum wages, for the subsequent second and the third year, the stipend to an apprentice should be increased between the rates of 10 and 15 per cent.

Apprenticeship training is done through the 22 regional directorates of skill development and entrepreneurship and 36 state apprenticeship advisers across the country.

At the end of the apprenticeship training an evaluation is conducted jointly by the industry and the DGT through All India Trade Test (AITT) for National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC).

The training will be provided as per the course curriculum designated by the DGT in the designate trades. It is supported by the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme.

The government has recently brought in some reforms to promote apprenticeships. These include increasing the upper limit from 10 to 15 per cent for engaging apprentices and reducing the size limit of establishments who have to hire apprentices from a minimum of 40 employees to 30 employees, thus increasing the total number of establishments who mandatorily have to recruit apprentices. The industry also has an option to design and implement their own Apprenticeship training programme.

Moreover, under National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), the industry can get reimbursement up to 25 per cent of the stipend paid to the apprentices.