Government proposes amendments to Apprentices Bill to attract more youth to join training

NEW DELHI: With an aim to attract more youth to join apprenticeship training, the Ministry of Labour and Employment on Friday introduced the Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2014 in the Lok Sabha.

The bill is meant to enable establishments to set up apprenticeship programmes faster and those which are more effective for the industry. According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government, the amendments to this bill will also lead to a larger number of seats in the apprenticeship programmes.

This in turn will help more unemployed youth get benefits of training. The existing infrastructure already available in industry will be utilized fully to develop skilled human resources. At present, there are 2.82 lakh apprentices undergoing apprenticeship training against 4.90 lakh seats.

The amendments in the Apprentices Act, 1961 are based on the recommendations of the Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) and the Central Apprenticeship Council (CAC). They include; allowing the industry to undertake new courses, including non-engineering graduates and diplomas. Here is the list of the major amendments:

1) In place of strict regulation of seats for every trade, a band of 2.5 percent to 10 percent at establishment level to provide flexibility to industry.

2) Industry will also be allowed to undertake new courses (other than designated trades) which are demand based.

3) Non-engineering graduates and diplomas have been included.

4) The regime for penalties and inspection will be reasonable and exception based for reducing harassment.

5) Compliance will be made portal based.

6) Establishments operating in four or more States will be taken into the fold of Central authorities for easy interface.

7) Small industries are being permitted to aggregate apprentices through approved third parties, and also to outsource basic training.