92 percent Indian universities believe that degree apprenticeships yield better results

70 percent of universities and HEIs believe that with the introduction of new degree apprenticeship programs and a significant increase in the demand for hiring apprentices, India will have more than 10 million apprentices in the next five years, it said.

In its latest report “Future of Apprenticeship in India”, TeamLease EdTech found out that close to 1.2 crore students graduate every year, but only 35 percent of these students are actually employable enough to join the industry.

Under analysis, the respondents of the study said 62 percent of the respondents stated that apprenticeships have created a sustainable cycle of learning by enabling students to earn while they learn.

To highlight the importance of degree apprenticeships, Founder & CEO of TeamLease EdTech Shantanu Rooj, said, “Over the past few years, Degree Apprenticeships have emerged as a solution to this skill crisis. HEIs in India strongly believe that apprenticeship embedded degrees are proving to be more beneficial for students.

"In fact, as our survey indicates, 79 percent universities and HEIs feel such programs provide practical hands-on skills to students making them job ready as they enter the workforce; additionally, 71 percent feel that students learn the nuances of the corporate world better through such programs."

Further diving into the ecosystem, the report also highlights that degree apprenticeships are also helping to address the issue of dropping gross enrollment ratios (GER) in higher education institutes.

Neeti Sharma, Co-Founder and President at TeamLease EdTech, said, “We have glaring dropout rates! Between 10th grade to university education, close to 55 percent of students drop out of the learning ecosystem every year.

"Degree Apprenticeships, with ‘Earning while Learning’ embedded inside, are proving to be a credible option to address this challenge.

"Incidentally, as our survey highlights - 93 percent of Universities and Higher Education Institutes expressed that Degree Apprenticeships can aid in increasing the GER and help achieve the GER target set in the National Education Policy 2020."

The National Education Policy 2020 has also set the foundation for more universities to come forward and launch degree apprenticeship programs.

Currently with only four to five universities offering degree apprenticeships in India today, there are close to 63,000 active degree apprentices.