TeamLease Skill University (TLSU), India’s first and only vocational education university has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Union ministry of skill development & entrepreneurship to promote apprenticeship in the country.

As part of the MoU, TLSU through its programme 'National Employability through Apprentice Programme' (NETAP) will assist the government to bring more apprentices and employers into the fold of apprenticeship programmes. In terms of the MoU, NETAP is proposed to facilitate the engagement of 5 lakh apprentices and expand the NETAP scheme to include over 2,000 new employers over the next three years.

Commenting on the association, Union minister of state skill development and entrepreneurship (independent charge) & parliamentary affairs, Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that the pact with TeamLease is a significant development to strengthen the apprenticeship ecosystem in the country. The partnership is in sync with the Prime Minister's Skill India initiative. The association with NETAP will offer another platform to the youth of our nation to become employable by undergoing apprenticeships and acquiring practical skills of doing a job. It will also address the need of the industry to have skilled people

Elaborating on the partnership Rituparna Chakraborty, senior vice president- staffing, TeamLease Services Limited& co-ordinator, NETAP said that with a significant number of our youth suffering from skill deficit, employability is a greater problem than unemployment. Through this association we want to create a synergy between education, employment and employability and thereby help the youth of the country to have access to gainful employment opportunities.

As part of the MoU, ministry of skill development & entrepreneurship will allow TLSU’s NETAP programme to set the curriculum for apprenticeship training. It will also allow employer partners of NETAP to set the number of apprentices that they chose to engage paving way for greater employer participation.

From an apprentice perspective, the partnership will offer them an opportunity to choose apprenticeship at any of the TeamLease NETAP partners which covers more than 26 high growth functions/industries for a duration of 6 to 24  months.

Apart from on-the job training, all trainees will receive 200 hours access to the cloud campus of TeamLease Skills University for English, soft skills and basic computers. Further they will also be rewarded with a stipend that is equal to minimum wages for unskilled employees as per the Apprentices Act, 1961. A comprehensive programme, it includes all diploma holders, vocation education or vocational training certificate holder (ITI) and standard VIII pass outs in accordance with the Apprentices Act, 1961.