More women learning on the job as manpower crunch hits shop floors
women apprentices on their shop floors, prompted by a biting shortage of skilled manpower as well as their drive to address the gender imbalance in their factories.
There is a 4-5x surge in demand for young women who have completed Class 10/12 to be appointed as apprentices in the last six months, shows data shared by TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship with ET.
“Factories are becoming increasingly gender agnostic as they are facing a big talent shortage,” said Sumit Kumar, chief business officer of TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship. “India has a skill shortage of approximately 130-150 million people across various sectors,” he said.
The uptick is largely driven by a boom in auto, EV, electronics and phone manufacturing, Kumar said.
Companies hiring women apprentices in big numbers for their factories include Maruti Suzuki, MG Motors, ReNew, and Lumax.
Gender-diverse Workforce
This helps them grow and induct talent based on skill requirements to cater to their growth plans.
These apprentices are imparted on-the-job training and dexterity skills, mostly over a period of three years in partnership with an academic or skilling institute. Average stipend is `13,000-15,000 per month for the first one year, which may increase depending on the potential.
Company executives said women bring a diverse and varied set of skills to the highly male-dominated shop floors.
“Women bring about more dynamism with their varying perspectives and backgrounds,” said Rajesh Uppal, an executive board member (HR and IT) at Maruti Suzuki.
