New apprenticeship platform marked by extensive features

Compared to NATS 1.0, which mainly handled job postings, apprentice selection, application processing and certificate of proficiency verification, NATS 2.0 integrates comprehensive lifecycle management and provides real-time data tracking,

The newly launched portal of National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) — https://nats.education.gov.in — promises to help young graduates and diploma holders acquire employability skills. It also promises to engineer connections between candidates and employers.

The upgraded platform manages the entire apprenticeship lifecycle, including student registration, vacancies, application processing, contract creation, certification, reporting and stipend disbursal.

The landing page lists contact numbers for the four regions and the one seeking guidance can call any of the relevant numbers.

“Stipend disbursal via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) is a unique feature of the portal. Previously, the government paid the employer who in turn had to pay the trainee,” says a staff. The platform also offers a detailed guide on how to carry out the DBT beneficiary registration.

For employers, the platform gives sector-wise apprenticeship information.

“Compared to NATS 1.0, which mainly handled job postings, apprentice selection, application processing and certificate of proficiency verification, NATS 2.0 integrates comprehensive lifecycle management and provides real-time data tracking, although it still lacks the gender-specific and year-wise data features present in the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) portal,” says Ramesh Alluri Reddy, chief executive officer, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship. Some of its features are extensive.

It offers detailed financial data, year-wise statistics for establishments, seats, student registrations, stipend disbursement and sector-specific apprenticeship information. Reddy elaborates: “For example, the IT/ITES sector currently hosts 18,412 apprentices, the automobile and auto components sector has 9,414 apprentices, and other sectors have approximately 9,007 apprentices, with a total of around 2,61,703 individuals undergoing training in the present year. Leveraging this comprehensive data can further enhance skill development by identifying gaps, tailoring training programmes to specific sector needs and improving workforce readiness.”