Skilling and apprenticeship under 2020 Budget plan unlikely to take-off in Tamil Nadu

The Centre’s Rs 10,000 crore National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), which was launched three years ago, is yet to take off.
For representational purposes (Photo | AP)
For representational purposes (Photo | AP)

CHENNAI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced that about 150 Higher Educational Institutions will start apprenticeship-embedded degree/diploma courses by March 2020-21. 

While many welcome this initiative, experience has shown that many organisations, including state government departments, have failed to engage apprentices, it is pointed out. "By 2030, India is set to have the largest working-age population in the world. Not only do they need literacy, but they need both job and life skills," the Finance Minister explained. 

This aims to improve the employability of students in the services or technology stream. Labour and Employment department sources said it is already obligatory on the part of employers, both in public and private sector, to engage apprentices in the band of 2.5 per cent to 10 per cent of workers. However, many organisations, including State government departments,  have failed to do so.

The Centre’s Rs 10,000 crore National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), which was launched three years ago, is yet to take off. Due to lack of participation from industry players, not much of the fund has been utilised, sources said.

The government has also allocated Rs 3000 crore for Skill Development. Jayaprakash Gandhi, a career consultant, said this is however very low. “We need three to five times that budget to skill our students for the future. The government should reconsider increasing this budget to Rs 10,000- Rs 15,000 crore,” he said.

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