THSC partners Marriott India and NSDC to promote Apprenticeships

India is set to have the largest working-age population in the world by 2030. Leveraging its demographic dividend and aiming at addressing the demand for industry-relevant workforce, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is strengthening skill development efforts to upgrade skills of the existing and the future workforce. Driving forward the vision of Skilled India, Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council (THSC), one of the sector skill councils approved by NSDC, has announced its collaboration with Marriott India to promote Apprenticeship in Tourism and Hospitality sector. As part of the collaboration, Marriott will engage 5000 apprentices through its network of 90 properties in the country. The apprentices will be provided with an opportunity to receive hands-on experience at Marriott hotels for developing broader expertise in the sector, preparing them to cater to the demands of the tourism and hospitality sector.

Marriott commits to engage 5000 apprentices in Tourism & Hospitality Sector

NSDC is executing Apprenticeship in Optional Trades

Related article: 7 ways to put National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) into successful practice Read more: https://nationalskillsnetwork.in/national-apprenticeship-promotion-scheme-naps/

The MoU was signed between Mr Rajan Bahadur, Chief Executive Officer, THSC, Mr Neeraj Govil, Senior Vice President, South Asia, Marriott International and Mr. Gurmeet Singh, Senior Area Director of Human Resource, South Asia, Marriott International Inc., in presence of Dr. Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, NSDC and Mr. Rattan Keshwani, Chairman, THSC. The partnership will provide aspiring professionals an opportunity to get access to quality training and further, receive job prospects at Marriott. The apprentices may seek opportunities in industry-relevant portfolios or through self-employment. The goal is to instil economic security and stability among the country’s youth through world-class skill training. The partnership will enable the youth in accessing employment opportunities and make their growth more inclusive.

Dr. Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, NSDC said, “Apprenticeship has been recognized world-wide as the key to providing right training and acquiring world-class talent. The introduction of optional trades widens the scope of Apprenticeship in sectors such as services, retail, tourism, IT& ITeS among others, enabling the industry to design their own courses and creating a skilled workforce matching their needs.”

Mr. Rajan Bahadur, Chief Executive Officer, THSC expressed his views on the partnership and said, “Tourism and Hospitality industry has a huge potential to absorb the best-class talent in the country and our objective is to empower the youth by making them industry-relevant. The service sector is a great contributor in the country’s economic growth and our aim is to impart global standards of training to build the capabilities of semi-skilled and unskilled workforce through Apprenticeship. Our objective is to scale up apprenticeship program in the country in collaboration with the industry to bridge the gap between the industry-demand and availability of skilled manpower.”

Mr Neeraj Govil- Senior Vice President, South Asia, Marriott International sharing his thoughts on this collaboration said “We are pleased to partner and support this pioneering initiative with the National Skill Development Corporation and The Tourism and Hospitality Skill Council. Our combined forces is a step forward in our commitment to building the next generation of hospitality professionals and equipping them to operate in a dynamic & challenging business environment. It is an honour to partner with such esteemed government bodies to effectively create the next generation talent pool for the industry.”

The MoU between THSC and Marriott India underscores commitment to address the skilling gap in the job market in the sector. Marriott India will run the training curriculum aligned to National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) designed by THSC. Once the training is completed, the apprentices will be jointly assessed and certified by Marriott and THSC. THSC will also offer operational support in implementing the training program.

Major Reforms under Apprenticeship

The Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship has brought significant reforms to the Apprenticeship rules to drive greater participation of industry in the program. These reforms include:

i. Optional Trades introduced (such as Retail, BFSI, IT & ITeS, Hospitality etc)

ii. The industry has the flexibility to design the apprenticeship courses according to their needs

iii. Upper limit for engaging apprentices has been increased from 10% to 15% of the total workforce

iv. Size limit of an establishment with mandatory obligation to engage apprentices lowered from 40 to 30

v. Payment of stipend for 1st year has been fixed (as per education qualification prescribed in the curriculum) rather than linking it to minimum wages of the states, 10% to 15% hike in stipend for 2nd and 3rd year to apprentice

vi. Duration of apprenticeship training for Optional Trade can range from 6 months to 36 months

vii. Under NAPS, following financial incentives are given:

a. the establishments / industry can get reimbursement upto 25% of the stipend paid to the apprentices (upto a maximum of Rs.1500/- per month)

b. Reimbursement of basic training cost (BT)to the basic training provider upto Rs.7,500/- for 500 hours of training.

About Apprenticeship in India

Apprenticeship has been recognized as an effective way to empower young people with skill training through on-the-job training with the industry. The National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) was launched in August 2016 by the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. The scheme provides financial incentives to establishments that engage apprentices on the basis of two key components – by reimbursing the cost of training with Basic Training Providers (BTPs) upto Rs.7,500/- and part reimbursement (25%) of the stipend paid to the apprentice by the establishment.

NSDC has developed Apprenticeship Portal https://apprenticeshipindia.org/ which is a one-stop solution for the industry to post opportunities, screen candidates’ profiles, issue contact letters and engage apprentices. The platform also enables stipend reimbursement from the government to the industry.