Following is a reort that
appeared in Times of India ( 13 Nov ) :
Employer expectations are better met by apprentices than freshers, report says
Corporates find apprentices better
than freshers, says a report by
staffing company TeamLeaseServices.
"MOOC in Apprenticeship for Employment and Employability," a detailed study about the effectiveness of apprenticeship in conjunction with MOOCs (massive open online courses) in bridging the employability gap, reveals that apprentices are doing exceedingly well on all the three key parameters -- productivity, time to turn and return on investment.
Over 50% of the employers reported that apprentices are giving them more than 100%-150% return on their investment. Further, from a productivity point of view also employers found apprentices to be efficient.
Around 50% of the respondents mentioned that apprentices turned productive within 45 days of joining work which is much faster than an average employee.
India Inc also felt that the productivity of apprentices is
around 90%, indicating learning by doing to be an effective formula to
create productive workforce.
According to the report, while apprentices perceived their employability quotient to be a modest 5.3 on a scale of 10, employers gave them a rating of eight indicating high ability to perform a job.
From a region wise perspective, though apprentices from the northern region felt they were better equipped for job, corporates had a difference of opinion. They rated apprentices from the eastern region to be better suited for work.
Sumit Kumar, vice-president- NETAP (National
Employability Through Apprenticeship Program), TeamLease Services said,
"Apprenticeships is the most effective skilling / employability /
employment tool which could help India get closer to its ambitious targets of skilling 500 million
and filling 120 million jobs in 24 key sectors (including construction,
retail, transportation logistics, automobile, and handloom) over the next 6
years. While we may be able to create jobs, the biggest challenge is matching
the jobs to our talent. Though we add millions of youth every year to the
workforce, they are not equipped to take advantage of the possibilities."
=================================
These findings should not come as a surprise to anyone
It is a simple case of “ Cause
“ and “ Effect “
The report lists following “ Effects “ :
·
Productivity of
apprentices was found to be high and they turned productive within 45 days
·
Their “ Employability Quotient “ was 8 out of 10
·
Apprentices gave a “ Return on Investment “ , as high as 100
% to 150 %
·
Apprentices were very “ Efficient “
And the “ Causes “ are as follows :
·
A Technician ( Vocational ) Apprentice is paid a monthly
stipend of Rs 2100
/ 2400 / 2800 / 3100 , during 1st / 2nd / 3rd
/ 4th year resp
These amounts are less than 25 % of the minimum wages paid to
Semi-Skilled workers !
And while learning a new “ Skill “ on-the-job ,
these apprentices are actually performing , regular “ work “ on the shop-floor
, producing saleable goods
No wonder , return on investment is very high !
·
Although ,on part of the Employer , there is no obligation to “ Absorb
“ these apprentices upon completion of their training , some 5 % - 10 % do get
offered regular employment
Obviously , these “ Successful “ ones are those which are “ Top Rated “ , in terms of
the skills acquired and their productivity ( output /
hour )
This carrot ( of getting absorbed ) ensures that ,
from day one , apprentices work very hard to impress the Employer with the QUANTITY / QUALITY of
their work !
To drive home this message , Employers make sure
that their “ Expectations “ are made amply known to the
Apprentices from day one !
In factory after factory , it is an established
fact that the apprentices routinely “ Out-perform “ regular employees with years of
experience ( - and , very likely drawing wages which are TEN TIMES the stipend paid to apprentices )
·
Apprentices are NOT protected by Labour Laws and their apprenticeship can be
terminated by the Employer by providing to the Apprenticeship Advisor , proof
of misconduct or poor productivity
By and large , Labour Unions do not defend such
cases
There is no way , we can create 120 million jobs , even in 10 years
!
But , can we at least, introduce some more “ Causes “ , which would
create that “ Desired Effect “ of training 500 million persons in 10 years ? –
train them sufficient enough to become “ Self Employed “
?
I urge the Policy Makers to consider the following ‘ triggers
‘ :
·
Revise Apprenticeship Act to enable
employers to engage ANY
NUMBER of ( eligible ) youth as apprentices and allow employers to
devise “ Training Structure “ as per their needs
Any Employer wanting to engage apprentices under this revised APPRENTICESHIP
ACT , would need to be registered online on the web site of Labour Ministry and
must have installed a Biometric Attendance system , as described in :
·
An eligible youth can serve
his apprenticeship period with only one employer
·
A person who has successfully completed his apprenticeship cannot
be accepted as apprentice , a second time , in same or any other company
·
Remove :
# concept of 5
different “ categories
“ of apprentices
# concept of “ Shop-floor Trades “ for
engaging Apprentices
# concept of “ Trade-wise Ratios “ of apprentices
# distinction between
“ Shop floor “ and
“ Office “ , and
just say “ Work Place “
# the stipulation concerning “ different years of training for
different trades “ .
Just make all training for 4 years
# the concept of “
Contract Approval “ by Apprentice Advisor
·
Fix stipends payable to apprentices as
follows :
Starting Stipend…………….. Minimum wage as per Min Wage Act
Annual Increase……………… Linked to rise in CPI
·
Reimbursement
of Training Cost incurred by the Employers
25 % of the
Stipend cost to be borne by the Central Government and this amount to be
transferred to the Jan Dhan Account of the concerned apprentice ( as DBT )
This
provision will reduce our “ Cost
of Manufacture “ and help to make India a “ Low Cost Economy “ , without calling this a
“ Subsidy “ and violating WTO rules
This would
be far better than controversial Universal Basic Income ( UBI )
·
It shall not be obligatory on the part of the employer to offer any
employment to any apprentice who has completed the period of his apprenticeship
training in his establishment, nor shall it be obligatory on the part of the
apprentice to accept an employment under the employer.
·
To encourage PRIVATE
SECTOR to come forward in a BIG WAY , to set up Industrial Training
Institutions ( ITI
) , implement my earlier suggestion , as follows :
SkillCapital of the World ? [ 06 June 2016 ]
01
Dec 2017
www.hemenparekh.in / blogs
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