NITI Aayog Urges Apprenticeship Revamp to Boost Youth Skills, Productivity

He noted that the report's findings and recommendations provide a robust framework to align India's apprenticeship initiatives with global best practices, ensuring that industry and youth alike benefit from a dynamic, inclusive, and high-quality apprenticeship system.

NITI Aayog launched a policy report titled "Revitalizing Apprenticeship Ecosystem: Insights, Challenges, Recommendations and Best Practices." The report presents a comprehensive analysis of India's apprenticeship landscape.

The report presents 20 action-oriented recommendations along with an action plan, assigning implementation responsibilities and measurable performance metrics for each of the recommendations.

It provides critical insights, identifies challenges, and outlines actionable recommendations to strengthen the apprenticeship system as a cornerstone of India's skilling and employment strategy, according to a Niti Aayog statement.

Dr. Arvind Virmani, Member (Skill Development, Labour and Employment), NITI Aayog, highlighted that the apprenticeship ecosystem plays a pivotal role in shaping a skilled, productive, and future-ready workforce.

He underscored that as India moves toward the vision of Viksit Bharat at 2047, skilling initiatives must evolve in scale and quality to match the aspirations of the youth and the requirements of the economy.

The report categorises recommendations into five interlinked pillars: policy and systemic reforms, structural and regulatory strengthening, state and district-specific interventions, industry and employer engagement, and apprentice-and aspirant-level support mechanisms.

It also includes a compendium of best practices from States, industry, and international experiences. The report positions apprenticeships as a strategic investment in human capital and national competitiveness.

Meanwhile, India's share in global electronics demand has expanded at a rapid compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.2 per cent, significantly outpacing global growth of 4.4 per cent between 2015 and 2024, driven primarily by the sharp rise in mobile phone exports, according to NITI Aayog's Trade Watch Quarterly report for July-September 2025-26.

The report states that having established a strong foothold in assembly and system integration, India is now entering the next phase of its electronics journey, moving decisively toward component manufacturing and higher value addition.

- IANS