Bill to Make Apprentices more Attractive to Youth

The Ministry of Labour and Employment today introduced the Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2014 in the Lok Sabha.

 

This Bill aims to attract more youth to join apprenticeship training. It will enable establishments to set up apprenticeship programmes faster and those which are more effective for the industry. These amendments will also lead to a larger number of seats in the apprenticeship programmes so that more unemployed youth can get benefits of training. The existing infrastructure already available in industry will be utilized fully to develop skilled human resources.

 

The major amendments are:-

 

         i.            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.

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

      iii.            Non-engineering graduates and diplomas have been included.

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

        v.            Compliance will be made portal based.

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

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

 

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).