Congress manifesto to push for 'right to apprenticeship' | India News – Times of India
NEW DELHI: Congress will make it mandatory for private and govt companies to accept as an apprentice any candidate seeking a temporary stint with them, which will include a provision of stipend. Eligibility criteria for “right to apprenticeship” will be an age bar of 25 years, with a bachelors or postgraduate degree.
AICC manifesto committee headed by P Chidambaram cleared “right to apprenticeship” programme, which will be one of the highlights of Congress promises to win over young voters.
As part of the move, if voted to power, Congress will scrap Apprenticeship Act of 1961, and bring a new law which will make it mandatory for the industry to accept a candidate applying for temporary jobs to gain skills. The 1961 Act leaves it to a company to decide an application for apprenticeship.
Sources said the programme is “very much manageable” because the eligibility criteria will act as filter for vast number of possible candidates, while ensuring that young passouts who want the support of apprenticeship are able to find it.
A stipend of Rs 8,000 for diploma holders and Rs 9,000 for graduates will be fixed, which will be shared by companies and govt. Congress believes the move will be welcomed by companies as they will have extra hands of work for nominal payments. Intake quota of apprentices will be decided by size of the company.
“This will provide dignity to degrees, as a candidate will work and acquire skills on the job, and will be better equipped to find employment in the market,” a party source said.
Meanwhile, Congress is also mulling “private sector quota” for SC/ST/OBCs in the industry, though legal issues over the proposal seem to have put it on hold. While the manifesto committee has not cleared it, Congress working committee which will discuss and approve the manifesto draft will have the last word.
A similar push during UPA fizzled out as govt decided against making it binding on the industry. However, the proposal before 2024 manifesto panel is to include OBCs along with SC/ST for reservation in private sector, which increases its ambit.
AICC manifesto committee headed by P Chidambaram cleared “right to apprenticeship” programme, which will be one of the highlights of Congress promises to win over young voters.
As part of the move, if voted to power, Congress will scrap Apprenticeship Act of 1961, and bring a new law which will make it mandatory for the industry to accept a candidate applying for temporary jobs to gain skills. The 1961 Act leaves it to a company to decide an application for apprenticeship.
Sources said the programme is “very much manageable” because the eligibility criteria will act as filter for vast number of possible candidates, while ensuring that young passouts who want the support of apprenticeship are able to find it.
A stipend of Rs 8,000 for diploma holders and Rs 9,000 for graduates will be fixed, which will be shared by companies and govt. Congress believes the move will be welcomed by companies as they will have extra hands of work for nominal payments. Intake quota of apprentices will be decided by size of the company.
“This will provide dignity to degrees, as a candidate will work and acquire skills on the job, and will be better equipped to find employment in the market,” a party source said.
Meanwhile, Congress is also mulling “private sector quota” for SC/ST/OBCs in the industry, though legal issues over the proposal seem to have put it on hold. While the manifesto committee has not cleared it, Congress working committee which will discuss and approve the manifesto draft will have the last word.
A similar push during UPA fizzled out as govt decided against making it binding on the industry. However, the proposal before 2024 manifesto panel is to include OBCs along with SC/ST for reservation in private sector, which increases its ambit.
