Widen scope of Apprenticeship Act: Ficci to Government

NEW DELHI: Welcoming the government's move to push ahead with labour reforms, industry body Ficci today said the scope of the Apprenticeship Act should be widened to include all types of establishments to cut down the dependence on institutional skill development efforts and costs.

"Ficci feels that the coverage of the existing Apprenticeship Act is limited. This is so as it is applicable to only 27,000 establishments with a seating capacity of approximately 4,60,000 whereas the country has more than 30 million registered and unregistered establishments".

"If the scheme is simplified and tweaked to suit every establishment -- big or small, formal or informal and manufacturing or service -- and encourages employers to engage apprentices, it will reduce dependence on institutional skill development efforts, saving valuable resources," Ficci said.

In a detailed submission to Union Labour & Employment Secretary Gauri Kumar, Ficci Secretary General Didar Singh has suggested that engaging apprentices in the production processes should be encouraged for 'hands-on' training and it should not always be branded as 'substitution of cheap labour, as it improves the quality of training.

Singh appreciated the ministry's initiative to restructure the apprentices system in the country which is a key to narrow down the gap between skills and jobs, secure full involvement of industry in skill development and promote employability of youth.