India solar industry faces growing workforce readiness gap

India’s solar industry is experiencing a significant workforce readiness gap as the sector expands. A survey report by Mercom India, titled ‘Bridging India’s Solar Talent Gap – Aligning Academia with Industry Needs’, indicates that fresh graduates require substantial training before becoming productive in roles such as utility-scale project development, manufacturing, rooftop solar installation, and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC).

The study, which included responses from over 100 industry participants, found that the talent shortage extends beyond technical skills to include practical exposure, project execution, system design, regulatory understanding, and commercial knowledge. In the manufacturing segment, 74% of respondents reported that fresh graduates require between three and 12 months to become productive, while 7.4% stated the process takes longer than a year.

Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group, noted that the talent pipeline is not keeping pace with industry expansion. He emphasized that academic programs require stronger exposure to current technologies, operating projects, and the commercial realities of the evolving industry, calling for greater cooperation between academia and the private sector.