Discovering the Obvious ?
====================
Following is a reort that appeared in Times of India (
13 Nov ) :
Employer
expectations are better met by apprentices than freshers, report says
Corporates find apprentices better than freshers, says a report by staffing
company TeamLeaseServices.
"MOOC in Apprenticeship for Employment and Employability," a detailed study about the effectiveness of apprenticeship in conjunction with MOOCs (massive open online courses) in bridging the employability gap, reveals that apprentices are doing exceedingly well on all the three key parameters -- productivity, time to turn and return on investment.
Over 50% of the employers reported that apprentices are giving them more than 100%-150% return on their investment. Further, from a productivity point of view also employers found apprentices to be efficient.
Around 50% of the respondents mentioned that apprentices turned productive within 45 days of joining work which is much faster than an average employee.
India Inc also felt
that the productivity of
apprentices is around 90%, indicating learning by doing to be an effective formula to create
productive workforce.
According to the report, while apprentices perceived their employability quotient to be a modest 5.3 on a scale of 10, employers gave them a rating of eight indicating high ability to perform a job.
From a region wise perspective, though apprentices from the northern region felt they were better equipped for job, corporates had a difference of opinion. They rated apprentices from the eastern region to be better suited for work.
Sumit Kumar,
vice-president- NETAP (National
Employability Through Apprenticeship Program), TeamLease Services said, "Apprenticeships
is the most effective skilling / employability / employment tool which could
help India get closer to its ambitious targets of skilling 500 million and
filling 120 million jobs in 24 key sectors (including construction, retail, transportation
logistics, automobile, and handloom) over the next 6 years. While we may be
able to create jobs, the biggest challenge is matching the jobs to our talent.
Though we add millions of youth every year to the workforce, they are not
equipped to take advantage of the possibilities."
======================================================
These findings should not come as a
surprise to anyone
It is a simple case of “ Cause
“ and “ Effect “
The report lists following “ Effects “ :
Productivity of apprentices was found to be high and
they turned productive within 45 days
Their
“ Employability Quotient “ was 8
out of 10
Apprentices
gave a “ Return on Investment “ , as high as 100 % to 150 %
Apprentices
were very “ Efficient “
And the “ Causes
“ are as follows :
·
A Technician ( Vocational ) Apprentice is paid a monthly stipend of Rs 2100 / 2400 / 2800 / 3100 , during 1st
/ 2nd / 3rd / 4th year resp
These
amounts are less than 25 % of the minimum wages
paid to Semi-Skilled workers !
And
while learning a new “ Skill “ on-the-job , these apprentices are actually
performing , regular “ work “ on the shop-floor , producing saleable goods
No
wonder , return on investment is very high !
·
Although ,on part of the Employer , there is no obligation to “ Absorb “ these apprentices upon completion of
their training , some 5 % - 10 % do get offered regular employment
Obviously
, these “ Successful “ ones are those
which are “ Top Rated “ , in terms of
the skills acquired and their productivity ( output / hour )
This
carrot ( of getting absorbed ) ensures that , from day one , apprentices work
very hard to impress the Employer with the QUANTITY
/ QUALITY of their work !
To
drive home this message , Employers make sure that their “ Expectations “ are made amply known to the Apprentices from day
one !
In
factory after factory , it is an established fact that the apprentices
routinely “ Out-perform “ regular
employees with years of experience ( - and , very likely drawing wages which
are TEN TIMES the stipend paid to apprentices )
·
Apprentices are NOT protected by Labour
Laws and their apprenticeship can be terminated by the Employer by
providing to the Apprenticeship Advisor , proof of misconduct or poor
productivity
By
and large , Labour Unions do not defend such cases
There is no way , we can create 120 million jobs , even in 10 years !
But , can we at least, introduce some
more “ Causes “ , which would create
that “ Desired Effect “ of training 500 million persons in 10 years ? – train
them sufficient enough to become “ Self
Employed “ ?
I urge the Policy Makers to consider the following ‘
triggers ‘ :
·
Revise Apprenticeship Act to enable employers to engage ANY NUMBER of ( eligible ) youth as
apprentices and allow employers to devise “ Training Structure “ as per their
needs
Any
Employer wanting to engage apprentices under this revised
APPRENTICESHIP ACT , would need to be registered online on the web site of
Labour Ministry and must have installed a Biometric Attendance system , as described in :
·
An eligible youth can serve his apprenticeship period with only one
employer
·
A person who has successfully completed his apprenticeship cannot be
accepted as apprentice , a second time , in same or any other company
·
Remove
:
# concept of 5 different “ categories “ of apprentices
#
concept of “ Shop-floor
Trades “ for engaging Apprentices
# concept of “ Trade-wise
Ratios “ of apprentices
# distinction between “ Shop floor “ and “ Office “ , and just say “ Work
Place “
# the stipulation concerning “ different
years of training for different trades “ .
Just
make all training for 4 years
#
the concept of “ Contract Approval “ by Apprentice
Advisor
·
Fix
stipends payable to apprentices as follows :
Starting
Stipend…………….. Minimum wage as per Min Wage Act
Annual
Increase……………… Linked to rise in CPI
·
Reimbursement of Training Cost incurred by the
Employers
25
% of the Stipend cost to be borne
by the Central Government and this amount to be transferred to the Jan Dhan
Account of the concerned apprentice ( as DBT
)
This
provision will reduce our “ Cost of Manufacture
“ and help to make India a “ Low Cost Economy
“ , without calling this a “ Subsidy “ and violating WTO rules
This
would be far better than controversial Universal
Basic Income ( UBI )
·
It shall not be obligatory on the part of the employer to offer any
employment to any apprentice who has completed the period of his apprenticeship
training in his establishment, nor shall it be obligatory on the part of the
apprentice to accept an employment under the employer.
·
To encourage PRIVATE SECTOR to
come forward in a BIG WAY , to set up Industrial Training Institutions ( ITI ) , implement my earlier suggestion , as
follows :
Skill
Capital of the World ? [ 06 June 2016 ]
01
Dec
2017
www.hemenparekh.in / blogs
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