Manpower Planning for India’s Green Energy Sector

As Seneca the Younger rightly remarked, “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, then no wind is favorable”. As a sailor, you know this is true; even if you have the Great Bear to guide you, you still need to know the wind direction accurately to reach the port you wish to embark on.

In the context of our planet’s future, if we do not move towards sustainability and we do not know which direction to take to get there, then nothing we do will make any sense. The Russia-Ukraine war was a wake-up call for several countries in Europe and elsewhere, where the economies are driven and kept in motion using petrol and other non-renewable fuels.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has just released its Renewables 2022 report, which states that renewables will account for 90% of the set electricity capacity by 2027, and solar and wind-powered combinations will drive this change.

What should the energy industry do to make this come true? For leaders in the energy industry, the answer lies in moving from non-renewable to renewable sources, and recruiting and training professionals who can plan and optimize the utilization of these resources and the conversion to electricity.

The benefits overflow to the job sector as well. Solar and wind energy generation will open multiple vacancies in new job roles in the energy industry, such as a solar engineer, a wind engineer, or a renewable energy consultant. This could be a key reason for employment growth in countries with a shortage of fossil fuels and other non-renewable energy sources, which wish to move towards renewable energy. In India, too, renewable energy consulting is a booming field.

Industry shift towards green energy in India

“I was rich, if not in money, in sunny hours and summer days.” – Henry David Thoreau

No wonder Thoreau felt so about the sun. The sun is a remarkable source of energy and the original source of energy that sustains all life on Earth. In places where the gloom of winter looms almost all year through, the sun’s warm rays bring much-needed warmth and joy, especially in spring when the Sun reigns supreme again.

Renewable sources of energy offer benefits such as an uninterrupted power supply, are clean and pollution-free, and are easily available, and generation systems have lower maintenance costs than those that use non-renewable sources of energy.

The benefits offered by renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric have prompted industry leaders to move towards greener sources of energy. Companies such as Vedanta Group, Tata Steel, and Schneider Electric are looking for candidates to handle job roles in sustainability, waste management, and green energy generation.

Challenges Faced in Manpower Planning to go Green

Many of the job roles in the green energy industry require a lot of industry-specific exposure in the form of mentoring from industry experts, solving specific problems in the green energy space, and preparing for future challenges. Because of this, companies like Vedanta are hiring freshers and then getting them trained on ESG initiatives by international experts.

Schneider is hiring for more than 2000 roles in research and development, digital, commercial, consulting, and other business lines across their company. Schneider proudly says that they have sustainability embedded in every facet of their company’s business and that it matches with India’s journey as a country towards sustainability.

Some of the job roles in demand are sustainability manager, environmental consultant, safety specialists, ESG specialists and analysts, solar engineers, recycling plant technicians, etc. Green jobs are present in several sectors such as water and hydroelectric, wind and solar projects, wastewater treatment, solid waste management, urban farming, and green transport.

The demand for green jobs is on the rise in India, especially in metropolitan cities. These cities are recruiting several candidates, with the popular ones being Schneider Electric, Suzlon Group, Vestas, and Boeing. The Indian Power Sector has also woken up and will be adding as many as 14,690 technical vacancies in the hydro and 72,640 technical vacancies in the solar power sectors.

Job Roles in the Solar and Wind Energy Sectors

1. Solar Engineers

Solar Energy is becoming a focus for the energy industry and governments worldwide. With this, solar engineering is becoming an in-demand job today. Designing and coordinating the installation of solar panels for residential and commercial buildings is the primary responsibility of a solar engineer.

Other responsibilities include using CAD software to create line diagrams for electrical circuits, creating plans for evaluating a solar electrical system, understanding how the energy can be used for space heating purposes, and formulating safety manuals for installing solar installations. The job role may alternatively be titled as solar consultant, solar project engineer, or solar specialist as well.

As per our research on LinkedIn, we observed that more than 31,000 professionals are currently employed as Solar Engineers worldwide. The major hotspots for employment are the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, the New York City Metropolitan Area, Nigeria, and the Greater Delhi Area. The hiring demand is very high, and this talent is hard to hire.

Wind Engineering

Wind Engineering involves several disciplines handling the different aspects of a wind energy project. Wind Engineer is never a title by itself. It includes engineers drawn from several disciplines. Aerospace engineers create turbine blades and rotors and assess them for their aerodynamic properties. The support structures for these rotors and turbines are designed by civil engineers. Electrical components such as motors, generators, and electricity transmission systems are designed by electrical engineers.

As per our research on LinkedIn, more than 9000 engineers are employed worldwide in the wind energy industry. The major hotspots for employment are the Greater Ahmedabad Area, the Greater Bengaluru Area, and the Greater Chennai Area, all located in India. The Randstad in the Netherlands and the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area follow. The top employers are Suzlon Group and Vestas. The hiring in the wind energy industry is very high, and this talent is very hard to hire.

It is very clear that gender diversity is currently not that great for both types of roles, with a difference of nearly 70% in favor of males.

Sustainability Manager/Consultant

As companies work toward the sustainability set by the UN and EU, the requirement for sustainability managers and consultants continues to grow. A sustainability manager must help implement various environmental sustainability initiatives across the company, in the community, and in the larger region.

They must also help adopt the best waste management practices for a given scenario and engage with internal and external stakeholders to promote sustainability through company-wide awareness. Additionally, they must lead the ESG reporting in the company and develop systems that promote accuracy in its measurement right from the source. The job of a sustainability manager could involve deep analysis of sustainability data, though this is generally done by a sustainability analyst, the next role described here.

Our research shows that 40,164 professionals are employed in sustainability management roles worldwide. The hiring demand for these roles is very high, which means that such talent is hard to hire. Nearly one-fourth of sustainability management professionals have changed their jobs recently. The gender diversity is a lot better for this role, with 58% of the candidates hired being women!

The greatest demand for such professionals is highest in London, UK, Randstad, Netherlands, and the Greater Paris Metropolitan Area, followed by the Greater Sydney Area and the New York City Metropolitan Area.

The top companies employing this talent are Deloitte, EY, and AECOM. The number of job postings in both Deloitte and EY has grown by more than 30% in the past year, which is very promising for the future of green energy in the world. Such professionals are rarely employed in India, which is something that needs to change.

Sustainability/Environment Analyst

The sustainability analyst, who generally reports to the Sustainability Manager or Head of Sustainability, works with data to meet the sustainability requirements of the organization. He/she must understand the business portfolio and the sustainability needs to drive towards global sustainability goals. They must suggest action plans for the mitigation of risks and trigger escalations wherever possible.

There are presently 25,402 professionals employed as sustainability analysts worldwide, and the hiring demand for this role is moderate, which means it is possible to hire such talent without much difficulty. The gender diversity in such roles is also very encouraging, with 55% of all hired candidates being female.

The top areas for hiring sustainability analysts are all located in South America, with Greater Belo Horizonte, Greater São Paulo Area, and Greater Rio de Janeiro topping the list.  The top companies are the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis – Ibama, Vale, ICMBio, Arcadis, and EcoVadis, with the YoY demand for jobs being highest in the last two.

Conclusion

As the demand for renewable energy resources grows, steps also need to be taken to acquire the right manpower to meet the sustainability goals set by the UN, EU, and by individual companies and regulatory authorities. They need to be adequately trained and hold respected degrees and certifications, too. Leaders in the energy industry have taken the first steps down the path of harnessing renewable energy technologies, using smart ways to bring them together to meet our power consumption needs, and the future is bright (pun intended) for all of us in India.

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Rajkumar Shanmugam

Head of HR

Rajkumar Shanmugam is the Head of HR at ALP Consulting, bringing over 19 years of comprehensive HR leadership experience across India and international markets. His expertise spans talent acquisition, employee relations, performance management, compliance, and HR transformation. Rajkumar has a proven track record of driving people-centric initiatives, enhancing workplace culture, and aligning HR strategy with business goals. With extensive experience in US staffing operations and global mobility, he continues to lead organizational excellence through innovation and employee engagement.