Apprenticeship Training – Yoma
Across the professional sphere of life, you must have come across the term apprenticeship training programs. There are many apprenticeship training in India and before you start looking for different companies with apprenticeship training programs, you must have wondered how does an apprenticeship training work?
India, a third-world country, where the rate of youth unemployment has increased to 23.75 percent in 2020 has made youth employment a scarce reality. For the past decade, youth employment has been constantly hovering around 22 percent in the country! Every year, it has been reported that 75 percent amongst 15 million youth entering the job market are not trained adequately which eventually leads to unemployment.
With the workforce under the age of 15-24 remaining unemployed but are actively seeking jobs, apprenticeship programs prove to be a necessity! Let’s take a look and examine how these apprenticeship programs work on development in order to get a better understanding of the advantages of apprenticeship training!
What is an Apprenticeship Program?
An apprenticeship program is a combination of utilizing the facilities in the industry to provide on-job training by imparting academic or classroom learning. The target audience is mainly the youth entering the working industry. Apprenticeship programs aim to empower young minds by making the workforce qualified for the industry through extensive skill training and development.
Apprenticeship training is technically more formal and stipend based, with about 80 percent of the training centred towards on-job learning. The rest 20 percent is focused on imparting knowledge through technical academic training received at an institution providing classroom instructions for a specific trade of the industry.
In support of these training programs, the Government of India launched the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme in August 2016 with a vision to promote apprenticeship training in the country by providing financial incentives, technology, and advocacy support.
Is an Apprenticeship Training useful?
These narrowed statistics on the rate of youth unemployment give us a clear indication of the need for Apprenticeship programs. Implementation of the training and skills acquired marks the usefulness of a workforce. Therefore, it is imperative to realize that academic training without the required industrial skills is of no use if it is not applicable.
Advantages of an apprenticeship training:
Mastering technical skills: The blend of technical training with practical on-job training equips the working age with the necessary skills required to excel in particular trades of the industry.
Get first-hand experience in a working environment: Apprenticeship training exposes the trainee to real-time working conditions with an opportunity to work on technical equipment by inculcating industry-specific practices required to develop industrial skills.
Higher chances of employment: The structured training program allows the trainee to gain the knowledge and technical expertise towards a particular qualification, making the individual more qualified for full-time job employment in the industry.
Continued retention: Apprenticeship program enables the individual to become an asset to the industry by successfully applying the skills harnessed during the period of training, thereby, securing employment opportunities.
Exposure to multiple industries: This training exposes the individual to different facets of the working industry as they can undergo apprenticeship training in any industry or establishments that are available in the Central/State Public Sector or Private Sector.
Higher wages than any government sector: These qualifications make them more prone to getting wages and self-employment opportunities by fine-tuning their acquired skills. Skilled labor is preferred in other countries due to the technical skills that are honed during the apprenticeship training program.
Apprenticeship vs Internship:
People usually tend to confuse the two terms together and use them interchangeably. We seek to demarcate the differences between an apprenticeship and an internship since people tend to confuse these two terms together.
Job-exposure: Internships are solely dedicated towards the development of a particular skill that is expected out of any graduate to gain work experience while learning, with no guaranteed provision of a job opportunity. Whereas, an apprenticeship guarantees a high-paying full-time employment job after its completion of vocational and technical training to excel at a particular trade of the industry.
Time structure: Apprenticeships are more formal, long-term, pre-planned, structured mentorship, full-time paid training with on-ground working. Whereas, Internships are short term, unstructured, mainly focusing on providing entry-level work experience.
Credential and employability: Internships do not result in gaining credentials, they provide a basic idea about a particular field. Whereas apprenticeships lead to an industry-recognized credential and certifications along stipend that improves employability by imparting extensive technical training that makes you a step closer to getting employed.
To address these grave issues of unemployment, we at YOMA believe that apprenticeships are the building blocks of one’s career goals! We ensure that the youth is empowered and well-equipped with the technical expertise that is required to excel in a particular domain of the working industry. At YOMA, we encourage schemes such as NAPS and other apprenticeship programs that have taken flight such as ‘SKILL INDIA’, National Skill Development Corporation, Retailers association’s skill council, etc.
