FAQs – Apprenticeship

The Apprenticeship Program in India under the Apprenticeship Act 1961 is implemented by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) at the National level. The MSDE has entrusted the Directorate General of Training [DGT] to implement the apprenticeship training falling under” Designated Trades” and made the National Skill Development Corporation [NSDC] responsible for apprenticeship training under “Optional Trades”. For more details regarding Trades & Courses please visit apprenticeship portal http://apprenticeshipindia.org

Basic training consists of theoretical and practical/ lab instructions segment of every Apprenticeship Program syllabi related to a particular trade post which on-the-job-training is imparted to the apprentice. Basic training is an essential component of apprenticeship training for those who have not undergone any institutional training/skill training before taking up on-the-job-training/practical training. Basic Training is imparted to fresher apprentices for acquiring a reasonable ability to handle Instruments/Machineries/Equipment independently prior to being moved to Shop Floor/Work Area for practical / On-Job training.
Note: The establishment needs to pay the apprentice 50% of the prescribed stipend during basic training.

Basic Training usually accounts for 20-25% of the duration of the overall Apprenticeship Program but can vary depending on the specific requirement of the curriculum.

i) National Skill Training Institutes (NSTI), National Skill Training Institutes(W)
ii) Government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) having 2-star rating or above and Private ITI having 2.5 Star rating or above affiliated to NCVT
iii) Government & Private Training Centers affiliated with NSDC under SMART portal & the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKK).
iv) Industries/ establishments with “In-House Basic Training facility”
v) Basic Training Centre set up/supported by Industry/Industry clusters/Industry Chambers/Associations.
vi) Stand-alone Basic Training Centers like Polytechnic, Universities, Engineering & Management Colleges having good ranking.
vii) Training Centers empaneled under State Govts & other Government of India schemes
Going forward such centers will need to meet the standards specified for Training Centers under the BTP guidelines available under the ‘Acts & Guidelines’ section on the apprenticeship portal). The standards are mentioned in the template in the Annexure section of the guidelines (page no.3; point no.7).

OJT is practical training imparted at the workplace premises of an establishment.

There are two categories of Trades defined under the Apprenticeship act 1961-
• Designated Trades: Those notified by the Government are referred to as” Designated Trades” and
• Optional Trades: The other trades which are not included in the notified list of the Designated Trades but opted as a Trade/Course to be run under the Apprentices Act by an establishment. These are referred to as “Optional Trades”.

Designated Trades are those which have been notified by the Govt as a “Designated Trade.” These are mostly engineering based and appropriate for the manufacturing sector. Courses under Designated Trades are designed by the Central Staff Training and Research Institute (CSTARI), approved by the Central Apprenticeship Council & notified by the Government as a Designated Trade. At present there are 261 such notified courses. Details are available on the apprenticeship portal https://apprenticeshipindia.org/

Optional trade means any trade or occupation, or any subject field of engineering, non-engineering, technology or vocational training found relevant by an employer as per their requirements, other than the Designated Trades notified under the Act. Optional trades have been introduced under the Apprentices Act, 1961 to allow employers to create their own courses/trades for providing apprenticeship training. Before the introduction of optional trade, all courses/trades in which an establishment could engage apprentices under the Act were out of the list of “Designated Trades”. Such courses are usually technical/engineering based in nature more relevant to the manufacturing industry. The concept of “Optional Trade” was introduced to give more flexibility to establishment to create courses as per their requirements in the manufacturing, services, trade or any other sector. This has also opened up opportunities to non-engineering Graduates in fields such as B.A, B.Com., B.Sc., (including those pursuing such courses) and 10+2 pass outs from social sciences/commerce or those who have completed NSQF aligned short terms courses to enroll under apprenticeship training programs and become industry ready.

As on 1st August 2018, there are 261 Designated Trades and 200 + Optional Trades across 37 industry sectors available for apprenticeship training. Please refer the updated list of trades and sectors at the following links:
• Designated Trades: https://apprenticeshipindia.org/trades?type=designated
• Optional Trades: https://apprenticeshipindia.org/trades?type=optional
Besides, there are 2000 plus NSQF aligned Qualification Packs (called as Job roles), designed for Short Term courses which the establishments can choose from and add a component of shop floor training (On the Job training) and design an Apprenticeship curriculum and run the
Apprenticeship Program under Optional Trade. The establishment can create a new course in their login id & submit the curriculum online at www.apprenticeshipindia.org
List of such courses can be accessed through the link “List of Existing QPs” under approved courses on landing page of the apprenticeship portal.

An apprentice is a person who has entered into a contract of apprenticeship with the employer for apprenticeship training under the Apprentices Act.

Any individual who has completed 14 years of age (18 years in case of Hazardous Industries defined under the Apprenticeship Rules), is a minimum of 5th class pass (for Optional Trade), is meeting the standard of physical fitness for the course and having minimum educational qualification prescribed for a trade can undergo apprenticeship training. Please refer to the Apprentices (Amendment) Act, 2014 & Rules 2019 for more details – both can be found on the landing page of the apprenticeship portal – https://apprenticeshipindia.org/

• Candidate may access the apprenticeship portal and register him/ herself for an apprenticeship program in a sector/trade of his/her choice
• Search for potential employers and apprenticeship opportunities posted by them on the apprenticeship portal – https://apprenticeshipindia.org/course-search
• Send applications to potential employers for apprenticeship training
• Receive offer letters from establishments online and send his/her acceptance
• Sign the contract of apprenticeship with the establishment & commence the apprenticeship program
• Candidate can go to “Get Started” option available on the portal and follow the instructional manual i.e. “Candidate User Manual”.

The date on which the contract of apprenticeship has been entered between employer and apprentice and registered online on the web portal http://apprenticeshipindia.org

Online registration of contract of apprenticeship is mandatory for both Designated Trades & Optional Trades.

• The establishment needs to register on the apprenticeship portal online; view the application of candidates online & notify apprenticeship opportunities online
• Candidate registers on the apprenticeship portal & applies for an establishment for apprenticeship training against notified apprenticeship opportunities posted by an establishment.
• Establishment searches on the portal and offers a seat to candidates found suitable.
• An establishment can also search for the candidate offline and get them registered on the portal
• Candidate receives the offer of apprenticeship online from the establishment and accepts it
• The acceptance is again reflected in the MIS account of establishment.
• The establishment approves the accepted offer from the candidate. A contract having a unique contract number is generated between the establishment and candidate and signed by both parties online.
• In case of Designated Trades, this contract of apprenticeship is now reflected in the MIS account of approving authority and is registered/approved by him
• In case of Optional Trades, the apprenticeship contract will be uploaded on the portal site-http://apprenticeshipindia.org.
• Upon such registration/approval, the candidate gets the status of an apprentice.

• ITI Pass Outs
• Graduates / Diploma Holders
• All Pass Outs from the NSQF aligned courses including PMKVY/DDUGKY etc.
• Dual-Learning Mode from it is
• Perusing Graduation / Diplomas
• Fresh apprentices

All fresher apprentices are mandatorily required to undergo basic training.
• Candidates who don’t have basic training or qualification in the trade/course for which he/she has applied for apprenticeship on the portal need to go through the basic training

PMKVY is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. The objective of this Skill Certification Scheme is to enable Indian youth to take up industry-relevant skill training that will help them in securing a better livelihood. PMKVY courses are run by Training Partners under the Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) set up by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).

STT courses are short term courses designed by National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) under the scheme SDI – Skill Development Initiative or by NSDC or various State Governments & other Central Government agencies. Only those pass outs from of all STT courses that are NSQF aligned are exempted from Basic Training under the Act. Others will be treated at par with fresher candidates.

The dual-learning mode has been introduced for improving the connect between industry and ITIs. Under the dual-learning mode of training, the theoretical instructions and basics about safety and tools, equipment along with foundation practical will be imparted in ITIs and relevant on the job training for that particular trade will be given in the industry. ITIs are required to enter MOUs with industries/employers where they want to send their trainees for on the job training.

Modular Employable Skills (MES) Courses are those for whom historically the DGT had been conducting assessments. It has been decided that post 15th August 2018, the assessment and certification of MES Courses would be conducted by SSCs and that in due course, these MES Courses would be QP-NOS aligned and would come under the purview of Sector Skills Councils.

Apprentice must fulfill the following:
• The minimum age prescribed under the Act for an apprenticeship is 14 (18 years in case of hazardous industries) and he/she must have educational/technical and physical qualification prescribed under the Curriculum for the concerned trade;
• Minimum of 5th class pass
• Apprentice must be registered on the Apprenticeship portal.
• Apprentice must have an Aadhaar number / or a Unique Identification Number in the case of J & K and North-East candidates/apprentices.

An employer/ establishment is a person/entity who has a business in any trade or occupation and having infrastructure for providing On the Job Training (OJT). All establishments having work force (regular and contract employees) of 30 or more are mandated to undertake Apprenticeship Programs in a range from 2.5% -15% of its workforce every year. For establishments having a workforce between 4 – 29 this is optional. Establishments having a workforce of 3 or less are not permitted to engage apprentices.

Establishments have to access the apprenticeship portal https://apprenticeshipindia.org/
and register themselves online for the apprenticeship program in case they opt for Optional Trades. In case the choose to operate Designated Trades, they would need to register on portal http://www.apprenticeship.gov.in
The two portals are to be merged into one in the near future after which only the portal https://apprenticeshipindia.org/ will be functional. The information furnished by them will be used for online validation.
The establishment/employer can go to the “Get Started” option available on the portal and follow “Establishment User Manual”.

Establishment shall engage apprentices in a band of 2.5% to 15% of the total manpower strength of the establishment including contractual staff depending on their requirements. For instance, an establishment with total strength of 100 can engage a minimum of 3 apprentices and a maximum of 15 apprentices.

Employers/ establishments interested to avail the benefits of NAPS must fulfill the following conditions: -:
• Such contracts must be uploaded by establishment for approval by the concerned apprenticeship advisor, which shall be facilitated on the portal
• the Courses they operate under the apprenticeship program must be NSQF aligned.
• the assessments at the end of all such programs must be done jointly between the establishment and the NCVT (for Designated Trades) / the concerned Sector Skill council (in case of Optional trade).

• Employer may access http://apprenticeshipindia.org for on-line registration
• Notify apprenticeship opportunities on portal
• Search & shortlist interested (or suitable) candidates specific to sector, trades, region etc. online.
• Issue offer letters to candidates online for engaging as apprentices
• Upon their acceptance of the offer, sign contract of apprenticeship with apprentice online
• Submit contract of apprenticeship on-line for approval/registration by respective Joint Apprenticeship Advisor/State Apprenticeship Adviser.

Employers registered under the Apprentices Act, 1961 are exempted towards contribution of EPF and ESI for apprentices engaged by them. Financial support is available for them under NAPS as detailed in this document elsewhere in case they opt for NAPS & fulfill the conditions elaborated therein.
In addition, companies engaging apprentices can also undertake ‘skill training’ from their CSR funds over and above the requirement under the Apprentices Act.

Basic Training Provider (BTP) is an entity who has necessary facilities for a trade and is providing basic training to fresher apprentices, who otherwise do not have any formal education and/or training in related trades, engaged by an establishment.

i) National Skill Training Institutes (NSTI), National Skill Training Institutes(W)
ii) Government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) having 2-star rating or above and Private ITI having 2.5 Star rating or above affiliated to NCVT
iii) Government & Private Training Centers affiliated with NSDC under SMART portal & the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKK).
iv) Industries/ establishments with “In-House Basic Training facility”
v) Basic Training Centre set up/supported by Industry/Industry clusters/Industry Chambers/Associations.
vi) Stand-alone Basic Training Centers like Polytechnic, Universities, Engineering & Management Colleges having good ranking.
vii) Training Centers empaneled under State Govts & other GoI schemes

BTPs will need to self-report requisite details of their organizations and submit them to the Apprenticeship Division at NSDC. Once approved, they can start giving Basic Training under Apprenticeship. Please refer to the BTP guidelines that are available on the Apprenticeship Portal – https://apprenticeshipindia.org/ under the ‘Get Started’ section.

• Please go to the ‘Get Started” option available on the portal and follow the “BTP-TC User Manual”.
• All centers registered as BTP under designated trade by the RDATs are deemed to be approved as BTP for optional trade as well. Similarly, all NSTIs and ITIs (grading 2.5 or
above) will deemed to be a BTP for optional trade for NCVT affiliated trades, subject to available spare capacity.

I. Establishment pays a monthly stipend to each apprentice, in line with the provisions of the Apprentices rules. The establishment will be paying stipend to the apprentices each month, after adjusting unauthorized leaves.
II. The establishment has two routes to stipend payment – ‘Offline’ or ‘Online’. The offline method means that the establishment will use its own payment method and not the payment gateway available on the portal. Under the “online” option, the establishment gets the option to pay stipend through the apprenticeship portal by using the payment gateway. However, in both options payment of stipend has to go into the bank account of the apprentice.
III. The stipend reimbursement amounts to 25% of prescribed stipend (refer Q.43) or to Rs.1500/month (per candidate) whichever is lower. The establishment is required to submit claim for stipend reimbursement at the end of each quarter. While establishments are required to pay stipend at prescribed rates on pro rata basis to those apprentices who drop-out during a quarter; reimbursements cannot be claimed for such apprentices.
IV. If the establishment has chosen the ‘offline’ payment option (i.e. the establishment has paid stipend through their own payment method and not through the portal), they will have to submit certain documents (refer to SOP for NAPS Claims and reimbursement under “Notices and Advisories” on the portal). The claim will go through two levels of verification. The establishment will then be provided a random sample of candidates for whom they would need to produce a bank certificate, which will confirm stipend payment made to the apprentices. Once they successfully submit the bank certificate, the reimbursement amount will be sent to their bank account.
V. In case the establishment had chosen the “online” stipend payment method (i.e. the establishment has paid stipend through their portal), they will not have to submit these support documents.
VI. The establishments will be able to see the claim status by clicking on the link (PFMS- know your payment)
VII. For more information refer to “Payment & Reimbursement User Manual” is available under “Get Started” on the landing page.

Assessment and Certification by Establishments (non-NAPS)
After completion of apprenticeship training, apprentices will need to go through an assessment to be conducted by the establishment. Certificates will be awarded by the establishments to apprentices based on marks obtained by them in the assessment by the establishment.
Assessment and Joint Certification under NAPS
Under NAPS, and in cases where the employer/ establishment opts for Joint certification, the assessment will be conducted jointly by the establishment and the concerned Sector Skill Council, (in case of Optional Trades) or the DGT (in case of Designated Trades). The theory part of this
assessment would be online to be conducted through the concerned SSC/DGT, as the case may be, while the practical would be conducted by the employer at the shop floor premises and would be evidence based. In such cases the certificates will be awarded to apprentices who pass the assessment jointly by the establishment and the concerned Sector Skill Council /DGT. The assessment details will be uploaded on the portal and certificates will be generated electronically.

The key amendments in Apprentices Act 1961 (amended in year 2014 & 2015) are as below:
(i) A band from 2.5% to 10% of total strength of establishment has been introduced as a responsibility of the employer to engage apprentices in his establishment instead of a fixed % earlier.
(ii) The employers have been given the liberty to run industry driven “Optional Trades” for apprentices instead of only the “Designated Trades” notified by the Govt of India under the Act
(iii) The scope has been extended to include non-engineering pass-outs. Outsourcing of basic training component of the Apprenticeship program (which can be about 20-25% of the entire duration of the program) has been permitted to an institute of the employer’s choice.
(iv) Penalty in the form of fine has been provided for noncompliance of provisions of the Act- the provision for imprisonment has been removed
(v) The entire process of searching & contracting the apprenticeships and submission of returns & other information and reimbursement of GOIs contribution towards the stipend in a time bound manner has been online.
(vi) Duration of Apprenticeship (including basic training) is between 6-24 months for Optional Trade and 6-36 months for Designated Trade at the discretion of an establishment.

Further, a few amendments were made in the Apprenticeship Rules 1992 on 25th September 2019. These are as below:
(i) Band for apprenticeship engagement revised to 2.5%-15%. Additionally, 5% reserved for Fresher apprentices.
(ii) The duration of apprenticeship training, including basic training, for optional trade brought at par with Designated Trades i.e., between 6-36 months at the discretion of an establishment.
(iii) Establishments having a strength of 4-29 workers/employees permitted to engage apprentices (earlier this was permissible for only establishments with workforce between 6-39). It has been made mandatory for establishments having 30 or more workforce to engage apprentices (earlier this was mandatory for establishments with workforce of 40 or more).
(iv) The minimum rate of stipend payable to apprentices per month has been delinked from minimum wages schedule and fixed based on educational qualification of the apprentice (Refer Q.43).

(1A) In the case of Skill Certificate Holder, stipend payable per month shall be as per his/her educational qualification as mentioned in the table above.
(1AA) During the second year of apprenticeship training, there shall be an increase of 10 per cent. in the prescribed minimum stipend amount and further 15 per cent increase in the prescribed minimum stipend amount during the third year of apprenticeship training.
(1AAA) In the case of National or State Certificate holder, the period of training already undergone by him or her in a school or other institution recognized by the National Council or State Council, shall be taken into account for the purpose of determining the minimum payable rate of stipend.
(1AAAA) In the case of Fresher apprentice, during Basic Training for a period up to three months, the stipend amount to be paid by the establishment shall be 50 Per cent. of the prescribed stipend. Further, in case of simultaneous Basic Training (BT) and On-the-Job Training, full amount of the stipend is to be paid.

One can undergo apprenticeship training on the shop floor of any establishment under the Central/State Govt or private sector establishment upon singing of contract of apprenticeship with the establishment.

The National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) was notified in the Gazette of India on 27 December 2013. The NSQF organizes qualifications according to a series of level descriptors covering knowledge, skills and aptitude. The NSQF replaces existing frameworks such as the National Vocational Qualifications Framework (NVQF) and the National Vocational Educational Qualification Framework (NVEQF). Each level of NSQF is described by a statement of learning outcomes in five domains, which are known as level descriptors. These five domains are:
• Process
• Professional knowledge
• Professional skill
• Core skill
• Responsibility
NSQF requires that SSCs when developing Qualifications Packs and NOS identify a corresponding NSQF level using the NSQF level descriptors and that this information be included in NSQF level field in the Qualification Pack. It is possible for all current vocational courses, like MES, ITI Courses, or similar vocational courses in schools, colleges and polytechnics, to be aligned to job roles at specific NSQF Levels. An ITI Course in Plumbing would say they are training for plumbers at NSQF Level 3. Similarly, a polytechnic, training in fashion design, may say it is training for NSQF Level 5 for Garment Cutters. National Skills Qualifications Committee organized by NSDA provides the process of aligning courses and qualifications to NSQF.

The National Occupational Standards (NOS) specify the standard of performance an individual must achieve when carrying out a function in the workplace, together with the knowledge and understanding they need to meet a standard consistently. Each NOS defines one key function in a job role. The NOS are laid down by employers (through their SSCs). A Qualification Pack (QP) is a set of NOS aligned to a job role.