Apple's Bengaluru Education Hub: Solving the India Premium

Apple is expanding training for its supply chain workers in India through new development programs.

Starting in March, the Apple Education Hub will offer digital literacy courses to help employees build essential skills.

By investing in these upskilling opportunities, Apple is strengthening the overall resilience of its Indian supply chain.

Meeting the skills gap

Apple is investing in its Indian supply chain with the addition of the Apple Education Hub in Bengaluru and a new suite of development courses.

These changes reflect India's growing capabilities – in 2024, India was reported to be the fastest-growing economy in the world, with an expectation of 8.4% GDP growth. In response, major players such as Tesco and Apple started moving their investment focus to India.

Despite this momentum, barriers to infrastructure remain.

Moreover, China's dominance in manufacturing and its role in supply chains has been a difficult one to surpass - even as businesses look to diversify their sourcing amid global volatility. 

However, India has emerged as the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, demonstrating a production capacity of more than 300 million every year, with exports surpassing US$24bn in FY25. As a result, India is now being treated as a core pillar of Apple's global supply chain. 

Presently, India is facing higher manufacturing costs than China of 5-10%, due to productivity lags as a result of skills gaps and lower automation. To mitigate this, Apple is investing further in its Indian supply chain. 

Increasing digital literacy

The launch of the Apple Education Hub is the first of its kind in India, a collaborative effort with the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) to offer new courses to Apple's workforce. The expansion of its skill-building and training programmes will help its team with digital literacy - a vital undertaking as global supply chains move to more digitised operations. 

Apple's commitment also includes the expansion of its suite of development courses that are available to supplier employees. These reach more than 25 supplier sites in India. The developed programme will begin with Tata Electronics, with a curriculum helping supplier employees gain skills in digital literacy, Swift coding, robotics, automation technology and smart manufacturing. 

This marks the latest initiative of Apple's global US$50m Supplier Employee Development Fund.

“The same spirit of innovation that drives our products also guides our commitment to supporting people across our global supply chain,” says Sarah Chandler, Apple’s VP of Environment and Supply Chain Innovation.

“We’re thrilled to expand our technical training courses in India, giving thousands of employees the opportunity to learn valuable new skills and explore new paths for career growth.”

Currently, Apple and its partners have more than 75 courses for supplier employees in India, with plans to expand its robotics training programme that was launched in December 2024. The programme trains and qualifies factory educators at robotics labs, which gives them the skills to customise curriculum and deliver sessions across their facilities. As warehouses become increasingly autonomised, robots training is key to maintaining production efficiency.

All supply chain, sustainability, Scope 3 and net zero leaders should attend:

• Procurement and Supply Chain LIVE: The Net Zero Summit - QEII Centre, London, March 4-5
• Procurement and Supply Chain LIVE: The US Summit - Navy Pier, Chicago, April 21-22

Co-located with Sustainability LIVE, these events brings together CSCOs, CSOs and senior decision-makers at a moment when sustainability, supply chains and commercial performance are increasingly interconnected.
Tickets can be booked online today for The Net Zero Summit and The US Summit. Group discounts available.

Opportunities for growth

The collaboration with MAHE means the hub will bring together trainers and students who will learn directly from specialist educators. Staff from MAHE will teach supplier trainers, who will then deliver the training to the wider supply chain in India.

“This collaboration brings together Apple’s commitment to its supplier employees and Manipal’s experience in applied education to create meaningful opportunities for growth,” said Lt. Gen. Venkatesh, Vice Chancellor at MAHE.

“Supplier communities sit at the heart of India’s manufacturing ecosystem, and investing in their skills is more important than ever.”

Through the upskilling of the local workforce, Apple is closing the skills gap and creating more opportunities to work with automation. This initial investment will lead to mass supply chain savings, as the implementation of technology and robots - when done correctly with appropriate training - has proven to introduce cost savings and increases in productivity across the supply chain. 

As a result of cost savings and increased supply chain operational efficiency, this will translate to manufacturing cost savings, which will accelerate the path to cost parity for iPhones made in India. Through this, Apple is empowering its workforce across India and seeing supply chain benefits at the same time.