India plans a more employer-friendly apprenticeship to cater to MNCs

NEW DELHI: India is planning to strengthen its apprenticeship framework via measures including introduction of new courses to cater to the needs of multinational companies looking at relocating part of their manufacturing to the country.

The skill development and entrepreneurship ministry has received multiple queries from firms abroad on apprenticeship norms in India as they scout for new destinations under their ‘one plus one strategy’ of having at least one manufacturing facility outside China.

Many of these queries are from companies in the US and EU for sectors such as textiles, homeware, ceramic tiles, engineering goods and furniture.

The government wants to make its apprenticeship system on a par with the best in the world, said officials.

“The plan is to make apprenticeship provisions employer friendly and at par with other countries,” said a senior official, who did not wish to be identified. “This will help India create more job opportunities for millions of its youths, besides ensuring that a more trained workforce is available for ramping up domestic production for key sectors like electronics where India has huge dependence on China.”