Retail industry most enthusiastic to hire apprentices in India: TeamLease Skills University

Mumbai: India’s fastest as well as the largest private degree linked apprenticeship program, National Employability through Apprenticeship [NETAP], in association with TeamLease Skills University recently launched their report, “The Apprenticeship Outlook and Index”, a detailed six month forecast on apprenticeship hiring trends in India. According to the report findings, in the services sector, retail industry has emerged as the leading industry for apprentices. More than 45% of the retail companies interviewed have expressed interest in hiring apprentices. Around 42% employers in the services sector are open to hiring apprentices in the future as well.

Commenting on the report, Mr. Sumit Kumar, Vice President – NETAP, TeamLease Skill University, said, “The government has taken multiple initiatives like FDI clearance, policy changes, etc. which have led to a potential increase in retail activity through the expansion of local chains and large format malls. Employers have realized that to take advantage of the positive eco-system they require a steady pipeline of productive and highly skilled workforce. The only way to create this workforce is through apprenticeship. The gap in employability is also a key contributor towards the rise in apprentice hiring by the sector. Though good, today the participation by the corporates in the retail sector is pegged at 45% only, we are confident that it will steadily increase and apprentices will be an integral part of the human resource planning in the sector.”

“In the south, cities like Coimbatore, Kochi, Vizag, Vijayawada, Trivandrum and Madurai are new emerging markets where employer sentiment is continuously strengthening and we are expecting it to grow even further in the next few years”, added Mr. Kumar.