Inter-ministerial discussions have begun and a blueprint will be released soon, a senior government official said, to boost apprenticeship adoption by MSMEs.
Among the models under consideration is the Group Training Model, under which a cluster of MSMEs will pool resources to host apprentices who rotate across participating units every quarter.
The government is also examining improvements to existing programmes such as the apprenticeship embedded degree programme and the work-integrated learning programme to enhance their viability for stakeholders.
The proposed roadmap will have two parts: immediate measures and long-term reforms. It will include a clear action plan with defined ownership and timelines across stakeholder groups.
Pilot projects will be identified across select clusters, geographies and sectors to test the proposed interventions. The model could then be scaled up nationally based on the outcomes.
The ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship recently held a consultative workshop to finalise models for increasing apprenticeship uptake in MSMEs and to assess concerns related to costs and compliance that have limited participation.The ministry estimates that about 51,000 establishments are actively engaging apprentices, compared with 190,000 registered entities.
Completion rates remain low and participation is concentrated among large and medium enterprises. MSMEs account for a disproportionately small share despite a large segment being eligible under the Apprentices Act.
The government estimates India’s youth population will reach about 345 million by 2036 and views apprenticeship as a key lever for workforce development under Viksit Bharat 2047.
The ministry runs the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme and the Apprenticeship Embedded Degree Programme under the Act.
However, uptake among MSMEs has been constrained by complexity, lack of awareness of schemes and their financial implications, and concerns over returns, including the risk of trained workers leaving after completing apprenticeships.