Travel and hospitality sector makes the strongest comeback with a 34% growth in apprentice hiring

According to the report findings, around 41% of the employers are keen on hiring apprenticeships. In fact, the employers who have expressed interest in hiring apprentices has increased by 8% point this half year compared to the previous half year (33%). As per the report not only there is buoyancy towards the concept of apprenticeship, employers are even keen to ramp up their apprenticeship hiring. More than 58% of the companies reviewed were keen on increasing their apprenticeship hiring indicating positive momentum in apprenticeship eco-system. India’s degree apprenticeship program NETAP [National Employability through Apprenticeship Program] from TeamLease Skills University has launched their latest edition of Apprenticeship Outlook Report for H1 2021 (January to June 2021).

A detailed analysis as per the report, out of the 18 sectors reviewed more than 16 were keen on hiring apprentices. While Manufacturing (55%), Automobiles & Ancillaries (51%) and Retail (48%) are the leaders, sectors like Travel and Hospitality and Beauty & Wellness who very severely hit by the COVID also seems to be making a strong come back. Travel & Hospitality and Beauty & Wellness which were at -10% point and -5% point respectively in the previous half year (July – December 2020) have made a remarkable turnaround. The net apprenticeship outlook for Travel and Hospitality and Beauty and Wellness have grown by 34% and 31% respectively.

The report findings also indicates a positive time for women apprentices. Overall the preference for women apprentices has increased by 10% y-o-y, especially in sectors like Agriculture, where inclination to hire women candidates has increased by 40%. Cities like Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata are the most welcoming towards the female candidates compared to other cities.

Ø  Top 3 reasons for employers to increase hiring of apprentices:

o   To handle frequent demand surges due to the pandemic: 31%

o   To optimize the manpower cost of work at basic levels: 23%

o   To offset the workforce scarcity due to the COVID pandemic: 15%

Sharing his views on the current apprentice hiring trends, Mr Sumit Kumar, Vice President - NETAP, TeamLease Skill University said, “Apprentice hiring has embarked on a very positive trajectory in the last couple of years as more employers are realizing the merit of the apprenticeship model to build a robust pipeline of employable talent. In fact, from 2018 to now, we have seen a 2.5% y-o-y increase in employers who are willing to increase their apprentice intake. This positive momentum has happened despite the dip in the labor market during the Covid-19 lockdown. What is very interesting to note is the current projections which not only indicates an overall increase in hiring, but the fact that sectors like Travel and Hospitality as well as Beauty and Wellness which were adversely hit by the pandemic, are now showing aggressive turnaround in their apprenticeship hiring sentiments.”

Dwelling deep into the report findings, from a city perspective, with more than 57% of the employers indicating their willingness to hire apprentices in Chennai, Chennai has emerged as the most apprentice friendly city. From a non-metro point of view, Ahmedabad and Nagpur are the most promising cities. Taking into account business size, the net apprenticeship outlook is projected to see a positive increase across small, medium and large businesses.

From a profile and job role angle, roles like Fitter/Welder (in manufacturing) followed by Sales Executive (in agriculture) were the most sought after.