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					</table>India’s rapidly expanding solar industry is facing a growing workforce readiness gap, with employers across utility-scale project development, manufacturing, rooftop solar installation, and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) reporting that fresh graduates require substantial training before becoming productive, according to Mercom India’s newly released survey report: <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/product/bridging-india-solar-talent-gap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bridging India’s Solar Talent Gap &#8211; Aligning Academia with Industry Needs.</a>
Industry leaders have been drawing attention to the challenge even as India has initiated measures at the policy level to reduce its import dependence and position the country as a solar manufacturing hub.
At the Mercom India Renewables Summit 2026, stakeholders <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/industry-academia-must-collaborate-to-bridge-renewable-energy-talent-gap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highlighted</a> long training cycles, high attrition, and a shortage of practical skills among fresh graduates as key bottlenecks for renewable energy companies. They stressed the need to update academic curricula to reflect industry requirements and equip graduates with the skills needed to enter the workforce.
Developers need professionals with commercial, grid, and project execution capabilities. Manufacturing companies require workers who understand equipment, process discipline, and production environments. Rooftop EPC companies need practical skills in feasibility assessment, design, installation, and customer service.
Stakeholders have also been pushing for stronger industry-academia collaboration in research and proposed industry-led research and development consortiums to align academic work with near-term industry challenges.
Mercom India surveyed more than 100 industry participants across four major solar segments- utility-scale, manufacturing, rooftop, and engineering, procurement, and construction- to identify the extent of this skill gap in new graduates.
The study found the challenge extends beyond individual technical skills. Employers identified gaps across practical exposure, project execution, manufacturing processes, system design, regulatory understanding, commercial knowledge, troubleshooting, and site readiness.
<blockquote>“India’s solar industry is expanding rapidly, but the talent pipeline is not keeping pace with what companies need. Employers are spending significant time training fresh graduates before they can contribute effectively in project development, manufacturing, rooftop solar, and EPC roles. Academic programs need much stronger exposure to current technologies, operating projects, factories, site conditions, regulations, and the commercial realities of the evolving industry. Greater cooperation between industry and academia is critical to closing this gap,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.</blockquote>
According to the survey, nearly three-quarters (74%) of manufacturing respondents said it could take between three and 12 months to become productive, while another 7.4% said the process takes more than a year.
<a href="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/chart-for-the-email-blast-copy.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-107053 " src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/chart-for-the-email-blast-copy.jpg" alt="" width="408" height="374" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/chart-for-the-email-blast-copy.jpg 800w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/chart-for-the-email-blast-copy-300x275.jpg 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/chart-for-the-email-blast-copy-768x705.jpg 768w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/chart-for-the-email-blast-copy-650x596.jpg 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/chart-for-the-email-blast-copy-624x573.jpg 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/chart-for-the-email-blast-copy-600x551.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 408px) 100vw, 408px" /></a>
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Forty percent of respondents said 25% to 50% of new hires require retraining, while 29.6% said the proportion was between 51% and 75%.
Nearly two-thirds of utility-scale solar respondents (62.5%) said more than half of their new hires need significant retraining before becoming productive, including 37.5% who said this applies to over 75% of new hires.
Half of the utility-scale solar respondents believe fresh graduates do not understand grid congestion and curtailment risks. EPC companies also reported extended ramp-up periods.
Fifty-four percent of rooftop solar companies said fresh graduates take more than three months to become productive, including 16% reporting six to twelve months and 13.5% reporting more than a year.
The survey shows that the nature of the skill gap differs across the solar value chain. Among utility-scale developers, 75% identified lack of practical exposure as the biggest hiring bottleneck. Respondents also highlighted gaps in project feasibility assessment, grid and regulatory processes, and commercial understanding, indicating limited exposure to how projects move from development to commissioning.
Solar manufacturing companies reported different challenges. About 37% of respondents cited a lack of practical exposure as the biggest hiring bottleneck, followed by limited familiarity with current technologies at over 33%. Gaps were also reported in troubleshooting, quality assessment, production processes, and understanding factory performance metrics.
Rooftop solar companies highlighted gaps in field exposure, practical system design, customer interaction, and regulatory processes. Nearly 60% identified either a lack of field exposure or weak practical design knowledge as the biggest hiring challenge.
EPC companies similarly emphasized practical site readiness. About 88% identified lack of field exposure, weak technical knowledge, or limited understanding of project development as the leading hiring challenges. Only about 42% said graduates can work effectively on live project sites, indicating difficulty translating engineering knowledge into real-world construction, commissioning, and project execution.
The survey also showed that industry is willing to help address the problem.
More than 83% of respondents in every segment said they would support internships, site exposure, factory visits, or training partnerships. Manufacturers showed the strongest interest at 96%, indicating substantial scope for structured industry-academia collaboration focused on practical, industry-relevant training.
<blockquote>“The industry is clearly willing to participate in solving this problem. Companies across all four segments are open to internships, site exposure, factory visits, and training partnerships. What is missing is a structured mechanism and effort that brings industry and academia together regularly, so curricula and practical training keep pace with how quickly the solar market is changing,” Prabhu added.</blockquote>
Mercom India’s Bridging India’s Solar Talent Gap &#8211; Aligning Academia with Industry Needs examines workforce readiness across utility-scale solar development, solar manufacturing, rooftop solar, and EPC companies. The study assesses graduate readiness, productivity timelines, retraining requirements, practical skill gaps, hiring bottlenecks, and industry willingness to support internships and training partnerships. The findings highlight areas where industry, educational institutions, and policymakers can better align workforce development with the evolving needs of India’s solar sector.
For the complete survey report, visit:  <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/product/bridging-india-solar-talent-gap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.mercomindia.com/product/bridging-india-solar-talent-gap</a>
To download the report, visit: <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/product-form/bridging-india-solar-talent-gap-survey-report-form" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.mercomindia.com/product-form/bridging-india-solar-talent-gap-survey-report-form</a>

India’s Solar Growth Exposes Industry-Wide Talent Readiness Gap: Mercom

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					</table>India&#8217;s renewable energy ambitions are creating demand for a new generation of engineers, researchers, and manufacturing professionals with specialized skills. However, the workforce pipeline has struggled to keep pace with rapid growth in solar manufacturing, energy storage, green hydrogen, and other emerging clean energy technologies.
In an interview on the sidelines of the <a href="https://mercomindia.com/event/mercom-india-renewables-summit-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mercom India Renewables Summit 2026</a>, Juzer M. Vasi, Professor Emeritus, Department of Electrical Engineering, and associated with the National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education (NCPRE) at <a href="https://www.iitb.ac.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IIT Bombay</a>, discussed the shortage of skilled professionals in the renewable energy sector, the need to align academic training more closely with industry requirements, and the importance of introducing more specialized courses tailored to the sector.
Vasi emphasized that the workforce skills gap must be addressed within the next five years to prevent it from becoming a constraint on industry growth.
Edited excerpts from the interview:
As renewable energy expands and India scales up solar, wind, and energy storage, do you think the existing workforce pipeline is growing fast enough to meet the demand?
India is deploying renewable energy at a rapid pace, and we obviously need competent and skilled people to support that growth.
At the same time, manufacturing is expanding significantly. India now has almost 200 GW of module manufacturing capacity, while cell manufacturing capacity is ramping up.
This manufacturing expansion will require an entirely different set of professionals from those involved in project deployment. These professionals must also have a strong understanding of solar cell manufacturing processes and hands-on experience in fabrication laboratories.
Where do you see the most serious skill gaps: manufacturing, project implementation, or R&amp;D? Which area needs the most attention?
There is certainly a gap on the deployment side, but I believe it can be filled relatively quickly. If someone joins a company, they can probably become quite competent within a few months.
Manufacturing is comparatively more difficult because it requires more specialized skills, particularly in cell manufacturing, where highly skilled engineers are needed.
Research and Development (R&amp;D) is even more demanding because professionals need to understand the process in considerable detail. They must not only operate existing processes but also develop new ones. Solar technology is changing very rapidly, and unless companies continuously upgrade and adapt, they will no longer remain globally competitive.
R&amp;D therefore requires significantly more effort and professionals trained in research laboratories for several years before they can become competent R&amp;D engineers.
What are the primary reasons for the shortage of skilled workers in the renewable energy sector, and how can the gap between academia and industry be bridged?
Solar has grown very rapidly over the past seven or eight years. On the other hand, it is not easy for educational institutions to change their programs and curricula at the same pace. That has created a significant gap.
However, if industry and academia work together, there are several ways to address this problem. The gap may not disappear completely, but stronger collaboration can narrow it substantially.
Does India have enough specialized university and college courses to train the workforce required by the solar and renewable energy sectors?
I do not think we have enough courses at present, partly because academia is only now beginning to fully recognize the importance of solar and the number of jobs the sector is likely to create.
I should mention one program we ran through the National Center for Photovoltaic Research and Education at IIT Bombay. When we launched the center many years ago, we saw a significant shortage of people capable of contributing effectively to the National Solar Mission.
We realized that, one institution alone could not train the large workforce India required. We therefore launched a 40-hour intensive program called “Teach a Thousand Teachers.” It was conducted online and distributed nationwide, with about 1,050 teachers participating.
We also sent lab kits to around 40-50 remote centers so that teachers could learn to use them and later incorporate them into training for their own students.
Eventually, we distributed around 200 lab kits to colleges across the country. Something similar is now needed again because the sector has moved to a different level, and the training requirements have also evolved considerably.
What kind of government support is required to address the renewable energy sector’s skills gap?
Regarding training and education, the “Teach a Thousand Teachers” program was fully funded by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). Even the 200 lab kits were funded by the Ministry rather than by the engineering colleges that received them.
Government funding is essential. One may ask whether such funding should come from the Ministry of Education, since this is fundamentally an educational initiative.
However, the Ministry of Education looks after a very broad range of areas. MNRE should support such initiatives because the workforce requirements are being driven directly by renewable energy growth.
The funding required is not necessarily large, and there are several innovative ways to structure such initiatives.
I can give another example from the nanoelectronics sector rather than solar energy.
We had a program called the Indian Nanoelectronics Users Program. At the time, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, which oversees nanoelectronics, funded students, including PhD and other research students, from across the country to come to IIT Bombay and IISc, which were partners in the program.
Students could spend one week, two weeks, one month, or, in some cases, an entire semester in our laboratories. They were able to fabricate their own devices and gain real, hands-on experience with advanced equipment and instrumentation.
Around 700 papers were published by program participants, and more than 800 people used the facilities. Importantly, the intellectual property generated through the program belonged to the students and researchers themselves.
The patents, research publications, and PhD theses arising from the program belonged to the participants, while we provided the facilities and mentorship.
This had a significant impact on the semiconductor ecosystem. As India subsequently launched the India Semiconductor Mission, many of these people were well positioned to contribute effectively to it.
A similar program could play an important role in supporting the scale-up of India&#8217;s solar and renewable energy workforce.
Can India address the renewable energy skills gap within the next five to 10 years, and what steps are needed?
The skills gap at any level cannot be fully addressed in a couple of years. Some parts of it can be addressed quickly, but not all.
We must try to close this gap within about five years. Otherwise, the mismatch between industry requirements and the availability of skilled manpower could become large enough to constrain the sector’s growth.
Training and educational institutions therefore need to ramp up their capabilities quickly over the next five years.
We cannot wait 10 or 20 years. That would be far too long.
Are academic curricula adapting quickly enough to rapid technological changes in the solar sector?
Curricula are adapting. For example, we have a course on photovoltaic technology, and the content keeps changing as new technologies emerge.
What is more difficult is for entire academic programs to adapt. There are very few programs in India offering specialization at the bachelor’s or even master’s level in solar or renewable energy engineering. There are some, of course, but such structural changes happen more slowly.
We need more such programs. However, we must also remember that a bachelor’s, or even a master’s, program cannot be overly narrow in focus, because students ultimately need the flexibility to choose the areas in which they want to work.
Degree programs should therefore remain broad enough to give students flexibility while offering deeper specialization in emerging renewable energy technologies.

Renewable Manufacturing Needs a New Generation of Skilled Engineers: Interview

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