The number of applications generated fell to 401,560 in 2025, the lowest since 2019. Applications had peaked at 4.28 million in 2022 before declining to 2.97 million in 2023 and 2.53 million in 2024. The latest figure is more than 90 per cent below the 2022 peak.
The decline comes even as employers continue to create apprenticeship opportunities on the portal. According to the dashboard, a cumulative 7.7 million vacancies have been created under the scheme since inception, with over 7.08 million remaining available. The data points to a widening gap between vacancies available and applications received.
NAPS is the Centre’s flagship apprenticeship promotion programme, aimed at encouraging establishments to engage apprentices through financial support and candidate-employer matching. The scheme is a key pillar of the government’s skilling strategy and is intended to provide industry-relevant, on-the-job training to young people entering the workforce.
Experts attributed the decline to a combination of low awareness and limited financial incentives. Nipun Sharma, chief executive officer of TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, said: “There is largely an awareness issue, and overall, we can do more on awareness. Many companies, as well as potential applicants, are not aware of such schemes and might be missing out despite wanting apprenticeships,” he said.
Sharma added that while the Apprentices Act, 1961, mandates eligible establishments to engage apprentices within a prescribed range of 2.5 per cent to 15 per cent of their workforce, several companies are yet to fully comply with the requirement.
Bornali Bhandari, professor at the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), said awareness was only part of the problem.
“Awareness is definitely a major problem, but it is not the only problem. Lack of awareness is always a standard problem in India, but apart from that, there is also a massive problem of wages,” she said.
Bhandari said apprentices earning around ₹15,000 a month may not find it viable to relocate to larger cities because of higher living costs and may instead prefer local employment opportunities offering similar wages.
“They would rather work in their village and earn similar wages and enjoy a lower cost of living. Low wages for apprentices and barriers to mobility continue to be the larger and more pertinent problem,” she added.
