The NAPS scheme has been initiated by the Government of India in order to improve the overall scene of employment in the country by enhancing the number of skilled workers who can improve the operations of various industries. The NAPS program was put into effect since the 19th of August of 2016 under the patronage of the Indian Government.
Primary Objectives of NAPS :
- The NAPS scheme was conceived with the initial objective of increasing the number of competent and skilled youths in the country. The program was executed with an aim to create around 50 lakhs of employable and efficient apprentices every year till 2020.
- The country is on the verge of attaining the supreme economic boom. The NAPS program was also effectuated with an objective to attain all the financial bonus that the Demographic Dividend could provide until its duration of 2040.
- Another objective was to develop the functional capabilities of the organizations hailing from different industrial sectors. This would be done by incentivizing the tutelage that these organizations would provide to aspiring apprentices. Furthermore, these apprentices could be integrated into the core operations of the various organizations and their competency would be reflected in the better turnover of the companies.
Measures adopted by NAPS to combat the skill gap situation and ensuring a better future for the Indian youths :
The skill gap situation in India is imminent and has the potential to aggravate the future of the nation if it is allowed to thrive. A practical analysis of the skill gap situation is required to identify the missing skills of the workforce. Consequently it is essential to provide theoretical and practical knowledge which will be instrumental in equipping the youth with the proper skills required to ensure a well-oiled functioning of various organisations. Thus the NAPS scheme is endowed with a vision to empower the future by increasing the number of skilled apprentices who could effectively utilise their imbibed skills to improve various industrial operations.
Ways in which the NAPS scheme can combat unemployment in India :
The National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme is a carefully devised method by which the Government of India has planned to initiate apprenticeship based end-of-degree programs and necessarily modify the Bachelor’s in vocational courses to be inclusive of apprenticeship tutelage. This would thus create competent apprentices who would be aware of industrial operations and the necessary skill set they would require to possess in order to ensure enhanced productivity and improved financial bottom line of such organisations.
- Improving the skill level of apprentices : The NAPS curriculum is endowed with Basic Training and On-the-job Training. The Basic Training provides the requisite theoretical knowledge to the candidates whereas On-the-job training is beneficial in providing practical knowledge about the industrial operations. The BTCs or Basic Training Centres are instrumental in providing basic training whereas industrial organisations equipped with the requisite infrastructure can provide On-the-job training to the prospective apprentices. Thus those technical and non technical graduates who would want to make a mark in the industry can do so by improving their trade in the relevant disciplines.
- Industrial exposure is guaranteed : Various Public Sector Establishments of the Centre as well as the State and various other Private Sector Organisations, all of which are equipped with the necessary infrastructure, are deemed suitable to provide the on-field practical training by the directive of NAPS. Thus the young apprentices are moulded into responsible and smart professionals and would add value to any organisation they are employed in. This increases their employability and thus ensures a bright future to them.
- Stipends for candidates undergoing apprenticeship training : The Government has included the scheme of providing stipends through NAPS. Industrial bodies which supervise the tutoring of apprentices are to be incentivised by the Government up to an amount of Rs. 1500 per month that would count as 25% of the stipend. Reimbursement of the entire valuation of basic training which extends upto a limit of Rs. 7500/- for a maximum of 500 hours over 3 months, would be provided by the Government to Basic Training providers. Thus the economic assurance of youths aspiring to be apprentices is also reinforced.
- Placement Opportunities : The apprentices have tremendous opportunities to get employed in various private and public sector organisations that hail from different industrial backgrounds. The National Career Service Portal is linked with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship which would display the apprenticeship and employment status of different candidates. With the students finding their appropriate jobs, their unemployment would be taken care of as would be the development of the nation as a whole.
Battling the unemployment scene of the Indian youths would not only benefit the country’s population. This would in turn increase the productivity and financial bottom line of the organisations where the skilled apprentices are involved in the core operations and thus create the future for an economically developed nation.
