New Delhi, Mar 9 (IANS): More than 58 per cent of the companies are keen on increasing their apprenticeship hiring, indicating positive momentum in the apprenticeship eco-system in the country, a report said on Tuesday.

According to TeamLease Skills University that surveyed 600 companies, the travel and hospitality as well as beauty and wellness, which were at -10 per cent and -5 per cent point, respectively, in the first half of last year, have made a remarkable turnaround.

The net apprenticeship outlook for travel and hospitality as well as beauty and wellness have grown by 34 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively.

While manufacturing with 55 per cent, automobiles and ancillaries with 51 per cent and retail with 48 per cent are the leaders.

"Apprentice hiring has embarked on a very positive trajectory in the last couple of years as more employers are realising the merit of the apprenticeship model to build a robust pipeline of employable talent," Sumit Kumar, Vice President-NETAP, TeamLease Skill University, said in a statement.

"In fact, from 2018 to now, we have seen a 2.5 per cent year-over-year (y-o-y) increase in employers who are willing to increase their apprentice intake," Kumar added.

The findings also indicates a positive scenario for women apprentices.

Overall, the preference for women apprentices has increased by 10 per cent (y-o-y), especially in sectors like agriculture, where inclination to hire women candidates has increased by 40 per cent.

Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata are showing most welcoming towards female candidates compared to other cities, the report noted.