Over 83,000 youth will benefit from the Chief Minister’s Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme in 2023-24

Lucknow, September 8: In a major step to provide practical training to the youth of Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi government has decided to include diploma holders and graduates from any stream in the Chief Minister Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (Higher Education).

Under this scheme, the state government has set a target of employing 83,000 youth in 2023-24. For this, the government has made a provision of Rs 100 crore in the budget of the Higher Education Department, which has recently been approved. Its main objective is to motivate the maximum number of youth for apprentice training while benefiting industries and establishments through additional financial assistance.

The state government will provide an additional monthly reimbursement of Rs 1000 per trainee (referred to as a “top-up”) in addition to the stipend provided to each trainee by each industry and establishment taking part in the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS), which is reimbursed by the Government of India.

Govt and private institutions to get skilled personnel

The Chief Minister’s Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (Higher Education) will be operated under some guiding principles. This scheme will be automatically implemented in all such private industries and establishments that are training apprentices through NATS or will train them in the future.

Moreover, the scheme will adhere to the regulations established by the Central Government for the operation of the (NATS). Furthermore, the Chief Minister’s Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme will offer practical training opportunities to both diploma holders in engineering and technical fields as well as graduates in various disciplines within the state. Simultaneously, this initiative will enable both government and private institutions to contribute to the development of a skilled workforce, ensuring the availability of competent personnel.

Under the scheme, only those trainees who are registered in NATS run by the Central Government will get benefits. On successful completion of apprenticeship training of prescribed duration, the candidate will be awarded a proficiency certificate by the Government of India.

A cell will be formed to implement the scheme

A cell will be established under the Director of Higher Education, Prayagraj, in which departmental employees will also be involved for the implementation of the Chief Minister’s Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (Higher Education). The cell will work under the Director, Additional Chief Secretary, and Principal Secretary.

To promote the Chief Minister’s Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (Higher Education) and engage a large number of youth in training, the Director of Higher Education is collaborating with Regional Higher Education Officers and the Apprenticeship Training Board (Northern Region), Kanpur, to conduct training programs across all the universities within the state. Furthermore, the program will be extended to encompass higher educational institutions.

Monitoring to be done at the district, divisional and state level

To implement the Chief Minister’s Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (Higher Education), monitoring of NATS will be ensured in 21 departments under the state government and all the private sector institutions under their jurisdiction. A nodal officer will be nominated at the state level in the departments who will help in the successful implementation of the scheme by coordinating with the Higher Education Department and Apprenticeship Training Board (Northern Region), Kanpur.

The Higher Education Department will be the nodal department for the implementation of the scheme. Monitoring committees will be formed at the district, divisional, and state levels to monitor the scheme. A dashboard will be provided by the Apprenticeship Training Board (Northern Region), Kanpur, on the NATS portal, and it will be integrated with the Darpan portal of the state government.

Process of apprenticeship training

-The facility to register the candidates on the NATS portal and apply for apprenticeship training at any registered institute or establishment will be available.

-The institute can download the list of all the candidates from its NATS profile and select them for training.

-After joining, the Apprenticeship Registration (Contract) of the apprentice will be submitted online through the NATS portal for approval by the employer.

-After the commencement of training, the monthly stipend will be paid to the trainee by the employer in the trainee’s bank account before the 10th of the next month.

-The employer will submit the performance report of the trainee after every 3 months for approval through the online NATS portal.

-A call center will be set up at Kanpur, Lucknow to assist the candidates by the Apprenticeship Training Board (North Zone), Kanpur.