79% of employers keen to increase their apprentices intake in Jan-Mar qtr

Around 79% of employers polled are keen to increase their apprentice pool in the last quarter of this financial year in order to develop a strong talent pipeline

Around 79 per cent of employers polled are keen to increase their apprentice pool in the last quarter of this financial year in order to develop a strong talent pipeline, a report said on Monday.

Teamlease's Apprenticeship Outlook Report for Q4 2022 (January to March 2023) indicates that 79 per cent of employers are foreseeing to increase their apprentice intake in the fourth quarter 2022 (JanuaryMarch 2023).

Interestingly, the report revealed that more employers (about 37 per cent) are willing to increase their intake due to the fact that apprentices are real-time skilled talent available in the market.

Additionally, 23 per cent of employers feel that apprentices also help unlock business growth opportunities, the report added.

The Apprenticeship Outlook Report is based on a survey covering 14 cities and 24 industries. The report has surveyed 597 employers from January to March 2023.

The report further revealed that 12 out of the 24 industries see an increase in their Net Apprenticeship Outlook.

Large-size businesses have the highest Net Apprenticeship Outlook (NAO) of 69 per cent during the last quarter of this fiscal from 65 per cent in the third quarter, whereas SMEs have witnessed a drop (64 per cent from 71 per cent), it said.

A steady surge is observed in the engagement of apprentices in key industries like engineering and industrial topping the list with the highest NAO (90 per cent), electrical and electronics (88 per cent) and Banking, Financial Service and Insurance (74 per cent), the report stated.

Around 94 per cent of employers in engineering and industrial, 93 per cent in electrical and electronics and 85 per cent in BFSI are willing to increase their apprentice engagement, it added.

As India Inc continues to recognise the prowess of apprenticeships in developing a strong talent pipeline, it's heartening to see that the proportion of employers willing to expand their apprentice engagement in the quarter has increased. Employers are realising that apprenticeships with a degree linkage have better skill competencies," TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship Chief Business Officer - Manufacturing, Sumit Kumar said.