Govt to amend Apprenticeship Act in monsoon session to boost hiring

Relevance: The amendments aim to improve skill development and provide flexibility of companies in India 

What is the News? 

The Ministry of Skill Development is likely to amend the Apprenticeship Act in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament. Amendment will expand the scope of the act and allow companies to hire more apprentices, by providing them flexibility. 

What is Apprenticeship? 

• Apprenticeship is a Skill Training program wherein a person is engaged by a company as an apprentice and gains classroom (theory) learning for a short period followed by on-the-job (practical) training. 

About Apprenticeship Act: 

The Apprentices Act was enacted in 1961.It aims to  

• regulate the programme of training of apprentices in the industry as per the guidelines laid down by the Central Apprenticeship Council.  
• Utilise the facilities available in the industry for imparting practical training to meet requirements of skilled manpower for industry. 

What are the key amendments proposed in the Apprenticeship Act? 

Jointly Hiring of Apprentices: 

• The amendment will allow small and micro companies to jointly hire apprentices and deploy them on a sharing basis.  
• It means a group of homogenous small firms may hire a batch of apprentices, share stipend and deploy them based on individual requirements as per the contract period. 

Hiring of Apprentices: 

• The amendment may formally allow employers to take up to 15% of staff strength as apprentices. The current threshold is less than 10%. 
• It will also allow a company to deploy apprentices at multiple locations, such as the manufacturing unit, shop floor, and at vendors’ sites. 

Abroad Deployment of Apprentices: 

• The bill will allow Indian firms to deploy apprentices in their operations abroad if they so wish. They will be able to use third-party aggregators such as staffing firms to help scale up apprenticeship training and hiring.  

Reduce Regulations: 

• The bill will also reduce regulations and penalty clauses if some firms fail to hire despite promising to do so. It will allow them options to correct any past promises. 

Source: Livemint