58 per cent employers keen on hiring more apprentices: TeamLease

BENGALURU:  Nearly 58 per cent of the companies in India have expressed their intent to hire more apprentices in the first half of 2021, according to the latest edition of Apprenticeship Outlook Report for H1 2021 (January to June) from the National Employability through Apprenticeship Program (NETAP) by TeamLease Skills University. Overall, the number of employers who wished to hire apprentices has increased by eight per cent. 

Top functional domains where the apprentices are likely to be hired the most are production, engineering and sales. Sector-wise, manufacturing, automobiles and ancillaries and retail have presented a more positive outlook in hiring the trainees. On the other hand, Travel and Hospitality and Beauty & Wellness sectors, which were very severely hit by Covid-19, also seem to be making a strong come back.

The net apprenticeship outlook for Travel and Hospitality and Beauty and Wellness have grown by 34 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively. Employers are also keen on hiring more women for apprenticeship roles especially in sectors like agriculture, where inclination to hire women candidates has risen by 40 per cent. Cities like Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata are the most welcoming towards the female candidates.

The report also noted that the reasons behind the surge in the hiring for apprentices could be to handle frequent demand surge, optimisation of manpower cost and to offset the workforce scarcity due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “From 2018 till now, we have seen a 2.5 per cent y-o-y increase in employers who are willing to increase their apprentice intake.

This positive momentum has happened despite the dip in the labor market amid Covid-19. It is interesting to note that sectors which were adversely hit by the pandemic are now showing aggressive turnaround,” said Sumit Kumar, vice-president- NETAP, TeamLease Skill University.