41% employers keen on hiring apprentices: TeamLease

Around 41% of employers are keen on hiring apprentices, according to the Apprenticeship Outlook Report for 2021 (January to June 2021) from National Employability through Apprenticeship Programme (NETAP), TeamLease Skills University, Gujarat. The figure is an increase by 8 percentage point from 33% earlier.

The report revealed that more than 58% companies reviewed for the report were keen on increasing their apprenticeship-hiring, indicating positive momentum in the apprenticeship ecosystem.

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Of the 18 sectors reviewed, more than 16 were keen on hiring apprentices. Manufacturing (55%), automobiles and ancillaries (51%), and retail (48%) led the market. The report findings also indicate a positive time for women apprentices.

Overall, the preference for women apprentices has increased by 10% year-on-year. This was particularly noticed in sectors such as agriculture, where the inclination to hire women candidates has increased by 40%.

Sumit Kumar, vice-president-NETAP, TeamLease Skill University, said: “Apprentice-hiring has embarked on a very positive trajectory in the last couple of years as more employers are realizing the merit of the apprenticeship model to build a robust pipeline of employable talent."

The university said from 2018 to now, it has seen a 2.5% year-on-year increase in employers who are willing to increase their apprentice intake.

From the perspective of cities, Chennai has emerged as the most apprentice friendly city with more than 57% of the employers indicating their willingness to hire apprentices.

From a non-metro point of view, Ahmedabad and Nagpur are the most promising cities. Taking into account business size, the net apprenticeship outlook is projected to see a positive increase across small, medium and large businesses.

From a profile and job role angle, roles such as fitter/welder (in manufacturing) followed by sales executive (in agriculture) were the most sought-after.