Overview

In pursuance of the recommendations of the Scientific Manpower Committee made about five decades ago, the erstwhile Ministry of Education, Government of India, initiated a “Practical Training Stipendiary Scheme” with the object of providing Practical Training to the fresh Engineering Graduates and Diploma Holders in Engineering.

This scheme was directly administered by the Ministry of Education, Government of India at New Delhi, initially under this scheme, the industries/establishments, which took part on a voluntary basis, were requested to share the cost of stipend payable to the Apprentices equally. As the response from the Industries/establishments to the scheme was quite encouraging and the demand for training from the needy candidates was equally increasing, the scheme was decentralized for administration of the same to its Four Regional Offices. As the demand for training increased quite alarmingly the Government of India set up four Regional Boards of Apprenticeship/Practical Training at Chennai, Kanpur, Mumbai and Kolkatta in the year 1969, as “Autonomous Bodies” having representations from the Industrial Associations and organizations, state Governments and other professional bodies. Thus the administration of the scheme was vested with these Boards with the sole object of functioning independently to provide apprenticeship training to the fresh Engineering Graduates/Technician apprentices under the provisions of the Apprentices Act, 1961 amended in 1973. The Act has once again amended in 1986 to bring the products of 10 +2 Vocational / Junior Colleges / Intermediate pass out students under the provisions of the Apprentices Act. The new category of apprentices are termed as Technician (Vocational) Apprentices.