Data from TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship shows that the sector as a whole-consisting of solar, wind, hydro, battery storage-is estimated to create 1.7 million jobs, direct and indirect, in the next three years as several companies are looking to ramp up workforce. About 30-35% of these will be direct jobs and the rest, indirect.
However, the skill gap in the sector is a whopping 1.2 million. Only about 4.5 lakh people from the current talent pool of engineer graduates are employable.
Experts pointed out the need for rapid reskilling of existing talent and widening the apprenticeship talent pool of entry-level workforce.
Top companies in the sector include the likes of Tatas, Adani, Reliance, Renew Power, Sterlite, Mahindra, and JSW.
ET Bureau“Organisations need to start catering to building a talent pool and focus on reskilling and apprenticeship,” said Sumit Kumar, chief business officer, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship. Currently, solar as a sub-segment has 10,000 apprentices, most of the other sectors have negligible numbers, said Kumar.Mahindra Solarize, the Mahindra group’s solar solutions brand, is looking to aggressively ramp up its workforce, said Hemant Sikka – president, farm equipment sector, Mahindra & Mahindra.”At present Mahindra Solarize is ranked No 3 among the EPC contractors with about 150 MW of annual installation. We aspire to remain among the Top 3 players in the EPC segment growing 20-25% annually,” Sikka told ET. “We are doubling our team size in FY25 and gearing up for aggressive growth over the next 2-3 years. We will keep adding resources to match the requirements as per business and market requirements,” added Sikka.
Industry officials also said ‘PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana’- which aims to install solar panels in 1 crore households and provide up to 300 units of free electricity every month-along with the Cabinet’s announcement to develop 12 smart cities across India will lead to a large number of new jobs.
“These initiatives are set to solarize one crore rooftops which further extends into over 70 villages in Maharashtra and other regions, thus catalysing a massive economic transformation with investments and job creation on an unprecedented scale,” said Amit Paithankar, CEO of Waaree Energies.
“We are ramping up hiring across all levels to support Serentica Renewables’ goal of achieving 17 GW in renewable energy by 2030, whether operational or in various stages of execution,” said Ruhie Pande, group chief human resource officer, Sterlite Power.
“To address the talent gap in the industry, we’re placing a huge emphasis on upskilling and reskilling initiatives…We also regularly collaborate with industry experts and form partnerships with premier B-schools for training programs. Additionally, our pivotal focus is on actively recruiting top talent from campuses to build a strong, home-grown talent pipeline,” said Pande.
“There is a shortage of talent at all levels. The largest gap is at the entry level because most of these new industries have to give on-job training and a longer-than-usual runway to learn for the new recruits,” said Mohammad Saif, partner – Power and Utilities at EY India.
