The NAPS programme was initiated by the Government of India in August of 2016 with the primary objective to boost the number of skilled and dextrous apprentices in the country. India was languishing behind numerous countries because of merely 2.5 lakh apprentices it had around 2010. The Government, working in conjunction to the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship as well as National Skills Council, National Skill Development Corporation and numerous such bodies, formulated a plan to boost the number of skilled apprentices in the country.
NAPS: Vision and objective :
The Government had stated the urgency to convert India into a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2020. This would also be purposeful in taking full advantage of the demographic dividend. The country has been enjoying the fruits of a demographic dividend. The population shift that has ensued has resulted in the gradual increase of the youthful working-class population, estimated to be 91% and 43% in the upcoming 2 decades.
An acute need of jobs that would be created meant the strengthening of industries and creating employment. Industries would encounter enhanced productivity which would result in the increased financial bottom line and would subsequently contribute immense revenue to the nation and strengthen the national economy. But the fewer number of apprentices owing to the shortage of practical training, lack of infrastructural facilities, absence of proper vocational based training, shortage of industry interface into the core operations, and many associated factors had stunted the number of apprentices available in the country. Therefore, the introduction of NAPS was to enhance the overall skill ecosystem of the nation and promote national economy by injecting innumerable trained and competent apprentices into the industrial intricacies of the country.
Range of employability offered by NAPS :
NAPS has been envisioned and implemented through a multitude of revisions in the apprenticeship policies of the country and amendment of the archaic and obsolete Apprenticeship Act of 1961. This scheme is designed to intake all forms of candidates with different educational levels. The ones with proper graduate level education in technical and non-technical disciplines would be provided On-the-Job Training at various Public and Private Establishments equipped with proper infrastructural facilities. The ones without such would be provided Basic Training at Basic Training Centres operated through BTPs and subsequently provided OTJ Training at similar organisations.
Since NAPS accepts students from all backgrounds and disciplines, it also has no constraints in placing them in various industrial sectors. The programme offers a broad spectrum of employability skills and pertinent knowledge to the candidates through its implementation. Candidates are placed in the fields of their choice after relevant training has been provided to them and while they have received an outlook of the fundamental industrial operations. The scope is similar to technical and non-technical students.
Till date, a number of industrial sectors have responded as being assisted in their business growth and attributed the credit to the NAPS trainees that they have incorporated in their functions. Textiles and fabric industry of the country has exhibited maximum growth due to the assimilation of the NAPS trainees with the services industry, manufacturing sector, retail, FMCG, pharmaceuticals and IT and ITeS registering growth in the respective order.
The NAPS program has been instrumental in equipping the indigenous candidates with relevant industry knowledge. An assimilation of these are resulting in industrial growth. The country is expecting to reap maximum financial growth owing to the productivity of its indigenous industries and skyrocket in the league of massive, economically strong nations. All of this credit will be assigned to the conceptualisation and the implementation of NAPS.
