AMCHAM’s CSR Committee organized a webinar on May 8th with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to greater understand how to utilize national apprenticeship schemes for CSR. Welcome remarks by Ms. Valerie Swope, Program Coordinator, AMCHAM welcomed participants and introduced the speakers. Mr. Rajesh Varghese, Co-Chairman – CSR Committee, AMCHAM and Country Director, Pyxera Global set the tone for the webinar and moderated the Q&A portion. Mr. Vasu Sharma, General Manager – Apprenticeship, National Skill Development Corporation, through a presentation, shared an overview of NAPS (National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme), launched by Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship in 2016 to promote apprenticeship training in India by providing financial incentive to the establishments. Implemented by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), apprenticeship milestones till date include the engagement of 38+ lakh apprentices with 50,000+ establishments having engaged with apprentices, 100+ third party aggregators empanelled, 1,700+ core funds dispersed and 700 apprenticeship courses available. Mr. Sharma explained the minimum prescribed stipend, government contribution to the stipend, age limit for apprentices, eligibility criteria and duration of apprenticeship. He shared about how CSR funds can support additional apprentices (beyond the 2.5% mandate), training infra, etc.

The session shed light on key differences between NATS and NAPS. NATS (National Apprenticeship Training Scheme), introduced in 1973, under the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education with targeted beneficiaries as graduate engineering, BA, B.Com, B.Sc, diploma in engineering/technology with the duration of training as typically 1 year. NAPS, introduced in 2016, under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) targets beneficiaries in classes 5^th to 12^th, skill certificate holders, ITI, diploma, degree – pass or pursuing and offers varied program duration of 6 months, 9 months and 12 months. The engaging Q&A segment explored the role of third-party aggregators, specifics of what is covered under CSR, monitoring mechanisms and compliance requirements for companies participating in NAPS. The process for registration and onboarding of establishments and apprentices on the NAPS portal was also touched upon.