
A survey found that an impressive 81 per cent of firms supported the government initiative, but more than 70 per cent were willing to hire 10 per cent of their interns as full-time employees. This comes as the Union Government is considering expanding the scope of the Prime Minister internship scheme, whose pilot project was recently launched.
According to the Teamlease EdTech survey, over 38 per cent of firms expressed difficulties in obtaining interns with the appropriate skill set to meet organisational objectives. The study emphasised the importance of customised university programmes that fit industrial priorities to address this difficulty, Business Standard reports.
Most organisations (76 per cent) prioritise tech roles in their internship programmes, highlighting the industry's emphasis on digitally proficient workers to fulfil changing expectations.
Over one-third of the organisations surveyed want to allocate up to 20 per cent of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding to internship programmes. They stated that these funds would be carved out of their budgets to support other sustainable development goals.
The majority of respondents (73 per cent) believe that internships should last one to six months in order to provide real skill development while also ensuring programme efficiency.
Through the internship scheme, the government hopes to train one crore youth in India's top corporations over the next five years. For 12 months, the youth will be exposed to the real-world business environment, a variety of professions, and job chances.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the internship initiative as part of the government's job-creation drive in her July 2023 budget statement. The project aimed to provide 1,25,000 opportunities by the end of March 2025.
The scheme would involve the top 500 companies based on their average Corporate Social Responsibility spending over the last three years.
The Teamlease EdTech survey also found that 81 per cent of the companies support extending the PM Internship Scheme to all companies, “recognising it as a vital step to align CSR initiatives with enhancing employability and preparing a future-ready workforce.”