Companies to hire more apprentices in the coming two quarters

The number of companies willing to hire apprentices in the second half of 2021 to meet their talent requirement has improved from the first half, according to a report by staffing firm TeamLease.

The ‘Apprenticeship Outlook Report’, released by TeamLease Skills University’s National Employment through Apprenticeship Programme (NETAP), said 64 per cent of the 500-odd companies surveyed are willing to hire more apprentices than they have right now, an improvement from 58 per cent in the first half.

The report also indicated that more companies are now willing to pay higher wages to apprentices. The percentage of trade apprentices getting paid Rs 15,000-20,000 increased to 25 per cent this year from 2020, when it was 15 per cent higher than the previous year.

According to the report, about 19 per cent of the companies surveyed want to decrease their number of apprentices, which is slightly higher than 17 per cent in the first half of the year.

According to TeamLease’s estimate, there are about 300,000 apprentices in India.

The gender gap is also reducing when it comes to hiring apprentices. About 32 per cent of employers said they prefer female apprentices this year, compared with 23 per cent last year.

Sumit Kumar, vice president - NETAP, TeamLease Skills University, said, "2021 has been a rewarding year for apprentices despite the economic concerns caused by the Covid crisis… On one hand, apprenticeships have enabled employers to create a relevant and productive workforce, and on the other hand, apprenticeships have empowered the youth with skills, channelised them towards formal employment, and enhanced their employability and livelihood.”

The top sectors hiring apprentices are manufacturing and engineering, along with agriculture and agrochemicals. About 13 per cent more companies in these sectors are expected to grow their apprenticeship programmes, followed by e-commerce at 11 per cent.

IT technician, QA engineer and production technician are the top profiles that companies are looking for, according to the report.

Small businesses showed the fastest recovery in willingness to hire apprentices. According to the report, in the second half, 47 per cent of such companies said they are willing to increase their number of apprentices compared with 35 per cent in the first half. The percentage of small companies decreasing hiring also declined from 27 per cent to 24 per cent.

Large businesses adding apprentices increased from 65 per cent to 73 per cent, while the change for medium-sized businesses was 58 per cent to 64 per cent.

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat remain the top three states with the largest share of apprenticeship opportunities created, the report said.

Data in the report indicated that about 178,000 opportunities were created between August and December 2020. This number dipped to about 137,000 in the January to May period this year, with the steepest dips happening during April and May, when the country was in the grip of the second wave of Covid-19.

The top reasons for hiring apprentices include easy availability of apprentices to fill the skill gap, a need to offset the labour shortage caused due to the pandemic, as well as a need to reduce labour cost at the entry level.