TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship Aims To Equip 2 Mn Youth with Training by 2028

New Delhi, Aug 15, 2024: To advance skill development and empowering the nation’s youth, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship aims to  equip two million youth with apprenticeship training by 2028.
     
TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship is a privately-owned degree apprenticeship program from the house of TeamLease. Since its inception in 2014, the program has been at the forefront of bridging the skills gap in India, having trained over 1 million apprentices nationwide.  

India, home to the world’s largest youth population with over 808 million individuals under the age of 35, stands at a critical juncture. Despite challenges highlighted by the National Economic Survey and the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2022-23 — where only 51.25% of youth are deemed employable and 72.6% of individuals aged 15-59 lack vocational or technical training — India has made notable progress. Over the past decade, the employability of final-year and pre-final-year students has increased by 47%, reflecting advancements in skilling initiatives.

However, India still faces a significant gap in apprenticeship utilisation compared to developed countries like the UK, where apprenticeships constitute over 2% of the labour force, while in India, this figure stands at just 0.14%. This gap underscores the urgent need to prepare 30 million digitally skilled individuals and re-skill 50% of the current workforce — a transformation that could contribute an additional $570 billion to the economy by 2030. 

Over the past six years, more than 30 lakh apprentices have graduated from the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), with over 1 million apprentices trained under both NAPS and the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) in the last year alone. Despite these efforts, apprenticeships currently represent only 0.14% of India's workforce, significantly below the 3-4% seen in developed economies. 

In response to this pressing need, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship is committed to equipping and skilling 2 million apprentices by 2028, the company said in a press release. 
     
Sharing his insights, Ramesh Alluri Reddy, CEO of TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, said, "As India stands on the brink of a transformative decade, skilling our workforce is paramount to securing the nation’s future. With India poised to contribute 25% of the world’s incremental workforce by 2030 and with 60 to 80 million jobs at risk of disruption due to AI and automation, equipping our youth with the necessary skills is not just an opportunity but a national imperative. At TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, we are committed to this mission by setting an ambitious target to skill 2 million apprentices by 2028...Our vision is aligned with the broader goal of building a skilled India where the immense potential of our youth drives sustainable economic growth. By investing in skill development, we are preparing our workforce for the future and ensuring that India leads in the global economy."

With over a decade of operational excellence, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship has successfully placed over 1 million apprentices across more than 40 sectors and 150 job roles nationwide.