Dr. Hema Bajaj, Head faculty, MBA – HR, NMIMS, Ruhie Pande, Group CHRO, Sterlite Power, Amit Das, NOVO Nordisk India, Dr. Suryanarayan G. Iyer, Head, Human Capital Management Cloud Solution Engineering Team, Oracle India at the BSmart HR Conclave
While the government’s apprenticeship programme is well-intentioned, it is critical for the industry to structure the programme and implement it in a way to ensure long-term benefits for students and companies alike, said experts while speaking with Business Standard’s Nivedita Mookerji at the Business Standard BSmart HR Conclave held in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Industry leaders and academics discussed the apprenticeship programme introduced in the Union Budget 2024-25, which aims to enhance India’s skilling capacity and boost employment. The session, titled ‘Current Environment & What’s Required’, stressed on the potential impact and challenges of this new initiative, discussing the advantages of mandated schemes over voluntary ones and the long-term impact and incentives attached to government programmes, and the need to monitor them to judge its success.
Budget 2024 apprenticeship programme
Earlier this year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the new internship scheme designed to provide young individuals with exposure to India’s top 500 companies. The programme is anticipated to benefit 100 million youths over the next five years.
As per the programme, interns will receive a monthly stipend of Rs 5,000, along with a one-time assistance of Rs 6,000. The training costs will be covered by companies through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
This programme is part of a broader employment and skilling package, which includes an allocation of Rs 1.48 trillion towards education and youth development, marking a 30 per cent increase from the previous year.
Internship programmes need to be structured
Hema Bajaj, head faculty, MBA – HR, NMIMS emphasised the importance of internships for skill-building and applying theoretical knowledge. She noted that while it’s impossible to teach everything in a classroom setting, internships can foster a hunger for learning among students. However, she highlighted the need for these programmes to be structured effectively to truly benefit students.
“It’s not possible to teach everything, but you can teach students to have an appetite for learning,” Bajaj said, emphasising the need for internships to be ‘goal-oriented’ for students.
Internships must add to productivity of firms
Ruhie Pand, group CHRO, Sterlite Power, raised concerns about the implementation of the apprenticeship programme, questioning how student progress will be monitored and whether these internships will result in productivity gains for firms.
She stressed the importance of creating meaningful internship projects that offer real learning opportunities. Pande concluded that while the programme is promising, its success will depend on detailed planning and execution.
Mandated vs voluntary schemes in India
Amit Das, country HR leader at Novo Nordisk India, commended the government’s intentions behind the apprenticeship programme. However, he noted that similar initiatives, such as the NEEM scheme introduced in 2013, had been launched in the past but were eventually discontinued.
Das suggested that the government incentivising companies, particularly SMEs, to participate in the programme, would boost its implementation.
When asked what would work better: A voluntary or mandated programme. Das also supported the idea of mandating the scheme. “In my opinion, mandate and regulation always work in India,” Das said, arguing that regulation often drives success in India.
He highlighted the programme’s potential to foster strong ties between industry and academia, contributing to the ‘build model’ of talent development.
Suryanarayan G Iyer, head, human capital management cloud solution engineering team, Oracle India agreed with Das on the need for a mandated approach to ensure the programme’s success.
Iyer further emphasised the importance of providing sufficient time for students to adapt to and understand their projects, suggesting that meaningful internships should last 6-8 weeks. He mentioned the government’s initiative of appointing “professors of practice” to bridge the gap between academia and industry, enabling students to work on relevant projects that contribute to organisational productivity.
Economic Survey on apprenticeships
The latest Economic Survey also highlighted the need for reforms in India’s apprenticeship framework, advocating for greater flexibility in work hours and better compensation. The survey suggested that reducing government involvement in the apprenticeship framework could ease compliance for firms and improve outcomes. Additionally, it called for better coordination between educational institutions and industry, as well as efforts to change the perception that vocational training is inferior to academic education.
First Published: Aug 28 2024 | 7:21 PM IST
