Since the lockdown was implemented, there has been a huge shortage of labour. With the festive season looming, and not enough hands, many companies have become more open to hiring apprentices.
A Bengaluru-based e-commerce firm was in a fix when 40 of its logistics staff went home in May and didn’t return because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Facing a labour shortage with the festive season just around the corner, it turned to apprentices to meet the demand.
The reverse migration induced by Covid-19 has led many companies to take the same route and hire apprentices, leading to a rise in hiring demand for these roles.
E-commerce, fintech, retail companies open doors
The highest demand is in the e-commerce sector, followed by financial technology and retail firms. Estimates indicate that close to 7,000 positions could be on offer for apprentices ahead of the festive season across consumer-facing sectors as well as traditional firms in the manufacturing and services industries.
Sumit Kumar, Vice President, NETAP (National Employability Through Apprenticeship Program), TeamLease Skills University, said that since June there has been a spike in demand. NETAP is a blended apprenticeship training programme
“When it comes to e-commerce, the demand for apprentices is more for warehouse management, including pickers, packers and sorters. Since labour is not readily available, companies are open to hiring apprentices from local areas. The minimum requirement is 10th pass,” he added.
More than 4,500 apprentices have been hired so far with e-commerce and fintech accounting for the majority of the recruitment.
What is apprenticeship?
Apprenticeship refers to a skill development programme where a person is engaged by a company as a trainee to learn the trade or profession in exchange for a job for a fixed period.
In effect, it serves as a transition phase for a school/college student from the classroom to a job position. The apprentice also learns soft skills, work culture, ethics and organisational behaviour while undergoing training.
A company can hire up to 15 percent of its total strength as apprentices. India is estimated to have close to 65,000 apprentices.
The Apprenticeship Act, 1961, states that any establishment having a workforce (regular and contract employees) of 30 or more is mandated to engage apprentices as 2.5-15 percent of their workforce (including contractual employees) every year.
What follows apprenticeship?
At the end of the year-long training, apprentices are issued a certificate attesting to their proficiency in the particular field. This serves as an experience certificate when they seek employment after training.
Kumar explained that in just 3-6 months, an apprentice would become proficient in the requirement of the particular industry and could then be absorbed in a long-term position.
“It works well for the candidates as well as companies. Post-December, these companies will review the performance of the apprentices and offer them long-term job roles,” he added.
Government rules have set stipends between Rs 5,000 per month for school passouts to Rs 9,000 per month for graduates or degree apprentices in any stream.
Why is there a rise in demand?
Kumar said that since the lockdown was implemented there has been a 60 percent shortage of labour. This is leading to companies being more open to hiring apprentices.
“Earlier companies were choosy and not all were open to hiring apprentices. They would insist on minimum certification from Industrial Training Institutes as eligibility criteria. However, with the rise in reverse migration, we are seeing that companies are showing higher interest in hiring apprentices,” he added.
So, it’s not just ITI passouts, but also those who have passed out of schools as well as other technical/non-technical graduates who can become apprentices.
NETAP data shows that through the apprenticeship route, 95 percent of candidates can move to formal employment. At a time when the pandemic and slowing economy has hit the job market hard, this could be an indirect route for job aspirants.