79% Employers Keen To Increase Their Apprentices Intake In Q4 2023: TeamLease

TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, India’s largest private owned Degree Apprenticeship program from the house of TeamLease Services, has launched its Apprenticeship Outlook Report for Q4 2022 (Jan to Mar 2023), providing a comprehensive analysis of the current apprentice deployment sentiment. The report indicates that 79% of employers foresee increasing their apprentice intake in Q4 2022 (Jan–Mar 2023) vs. 77% employers in calendar year H2 2022. Interestingly, more employers (about 37%) are willing to increase their intake due to the fact that apprentices are real time skilled talent available in the market. Additionally, 23% of employers feel that apprentices also help to unlock business growth opportunities. 

The overall NAO, however, has witnessed a marginal dip of 3% in the current quarter (Jan–Mar 2023), compared to the previous half-year (Jul-Dec 2022). This report states that this is primarily due to a higher number of employers foreseeing a decrease (13% up from 9%), which is driven by regulatory uncertainty around certain programs & macro-economic headwinds. 

12 out of the 24 industries see an increase in their Net Apprenticeship Outlook. Large-size businesses have the highest NAO (69%, up from 65% in July-Dec 2022), whereas SMEs have witnessed a drop (64%, down from 71%). A steady surge is observed in the engagement of apprentices in key industries such as Engineering & Industrial topping the list with the highest NAO (90%), Electrical & Electronics (88%) and BFSI (74%). 94% of employers in Engineering & Industrial, 93% in Electrical & Electronics and 85% in BFSI are willing to increase their apprentice engagement. 

Sharing his views about the industry and the report’s findings, Mr. Sumit Kumar, Chief Business Officer -Manufacturing, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, said, “As India Inc. continues to recognize the prowess of apprenticeships in developing a strong talent pipeline, it's heartening to see that the proportion of employers willing to expand their apprentice engagement in the quarter has increased. Employers are realizing that apprenticeships with a degree linkage have better skill competencies. Moreover, even other stakeholders are taking the initiative to boost apprentice adoption in India. For example, increased advocacy from the government has helped improve awareness. Additionally, even the budget announced stipend support for 47 lakh youth over the next three years, on-the-job training through PMKVY, and the rollout of Direct Benefit Transfer under a pan-India National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme. The subsidy support is a great fillip for the apprenticeship landscape in India as it will give a huge boost to catalyse both the demand and supply sides and popularise apprentice engagement. However, in the current quarter, we have also seen a dip in overall NAO due to regulatory and economic challenges that the industry has faced. To take apprenticeship to the next level, organizations will have to scale up their efforts, in order to stay ahead of unprecedented challenges.”

“With a massive investment of Rs 3,517.31 crore, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has allocated funds to a number of skill development initiatives that will improve youth employability and boost job opportunities. Apprenticeships are a significant part of this talent strategy. Engaging apprentices is a tested methodology for addressing India’s skill crisis and today there are many new roles that are becoming popular for apprentices. Retail Trainee Associate (21%), Data Analyst (18%), Mechanical Engineer (13%), Associate – Store (10%) and Plumbing – Supervisor (7%) are the most sought after job roles from a NAO perspective for the current quarter. Some of the roles in the current quarter have seen a dip in NAO due to socio-economic factors and this is expected to improve in the coming months. For India to achieve its vision of 10 million apprentices in 10 years, the engagement of apprentices will act as a catalyst to reach its full potential,” said Mr Dhriti Prasanna Mahanta, Business Head - Services, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship. 

From a location perspective, all metro cities anticipate an increase. Hyderabad has the highest NAO (78%), followed by Delhi (74%) and Bengaluru (68%). 83% employers in Hyderabad, 82% in Delhi, 80% in Bengaluru and 81% in Chennai are willing to increase their intake. On the lower side, Kolkata (42%) has the lowest NAO, with only 68% employers projecting to increase. Non metro cities are also projecting an interesting trend. The NAO for Coimbatore (79%), Nagpur and Pune (76% each) and Ahmedabad (70%) continues to be on an encouraging trajectory. 84% in Coimbatore, 85% in Pune, 86% in Nagpur and 83% for Ahmedabad foresee increased deployment. 

The Apprenticeship Outlook Report is a thorough study on the apprentice engagement in India, covering 14 cities and 24 industries. The report has surveyed 597 employers and captures the appointment sentiment for the period Q4 2022 (January to March, 2023).