77% employers likely used more apprentices in second half of 2022: Report

As many as 77 per cent of employers will likely increase their apprentice pool in the second half of 2022 (July-December) from 45 per cent the same time last year, said a study on Wednesday. 

The Apprenticeship Outlook Report, published by the TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship programme, surveyed 789 employers and analysed hiring in 12 cities and 24 sectors.

The Net Apprenticeship Outlook (NAO) soared to 69 per cent this July-December: increasing 13 per cent over January-June 2022. That is the steepest rise over the last two years, the report said. 

Out of the 24 sectors surveyed by the report, 12 sectors, the Electrical & Electronics sector has the highest NAO (92 per cent) in the current half yearly period, as it reported a surge of 67 per cent in the outlook. This is followed by Aerospace and Aviation (88 per cent), Engineering & Industrial (87 per cent) and Banking and Financial Services sector (76 per cent) which are driving talent demand in the form of apprentices.

Sumit Kumar, Chief Business Officer, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, said that in the recent  past there has been significant progress in the adoption of apprenticeships in India.

“As businesses see stronger return on investments, more employers are looking to leverage apprenticeships as the key source of talent. In fact, small businesses are the most optimistic and report a doubling of NAO for Jul – Dec 2022, to 70 per cent up from 32 per cent”, he added. 

Moreover, the trend to hire apprentices has seen a growth in Tier II and Tier III non- metro cities as well.  Among non-metros, Pune tops the NAO chart (80 per cent) for the current period under consideration, followed by Kochi & Coimbatore, each with a 77 per cent NAO.

Kumar added that the push from the New Education Policy 2020 and the increase in academia-industry partnerships has boosted degree apprenticeships, which is visible beyond Tier 1 cities as well. 

“However, for India to scale to its true potential of 10 million apprentices in 10 years; simplification, consolidation and formalisation is the need of the hour. While the industry has taken few steps towards simplification, there needs to be more aggressive efforts on this front”, added Kumar.

The degree aprenticeship programme is offered by the consulting agency through a public private partnership with the TeamLease Skills University (TLSU), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Skill Development and industry bodies.