India Needs More Skilled Workers for Electric Vehicles, Says Report by SIAM
A recent study by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has found that only 57.44% of B.E. and B.Tech. graduates in India are employable in the automotive industry. The report, titled ‘SIAM EV Talent Landscape in India,’ was released on Tuesday and highlights several key issues and recommendations.
Key Findings
The report reveals a 38% shortfall of faculty in top engineering institutes, as high-quality educators prefer working in the industry over education. It also states that the Indian automotive industry will need up to 2 lakh skilled workers by 2030 to meet the government’s vision of 30% electric vehicle adoption.
Recommendations
The report recommends curriculum revisions across 15 competencies in India to improve employability. It identifies 40 technical competencies crucial for achieving the 30% electric vehicle goal by 2030. Of these, 13 competencies need to be introduced into professional training programs at various levels, including certificates, diplomas, and degrees.
Challenges
The report points out that 43% of the technical competencies between Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and Electric Vehicles (EV) have minimal overlap, requiring fresh skilling of talent. On the other hand, 27% of competencies have a high overlap and may require re-skilling of existing talent.
Investment and Training
A total talent investment of Rs 13,552 crore is expected for hiring and training the workforce. The report also states that around 127 million learning hours are required to train fresh talent and re-skill existing talent in the automotive sector. India needs to increase its annual addition of EV-ready workers from 15,000 to 30,000 to achieve full localization of EV components by 2030.
The report was released by Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Steel, HD Kumaraswamy, during an SIAM-organized workshop.
Doubts Revealed
SIAM -: SIAM stands for the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. It is an organization that represents the automobile industry in India.
B.E. and B.Tech. -: B.E. stands for Bachelor of Engineering and B.Tech. stands for Bachelor of Technology. These are degrees you get after studying engineering in college.
Employable -: Employable means having the skills and qualifications that make someone suitable for a job.
Automotive industry -: The automotive industry is the part of the economy that makes and sells cars, trucks, and other vehicles.
Faculty shortfall -: Faculty shortfall means there are not enough teachers or professors in the engineering colleges.
Curriculum revisions -: Curriculum revisions mean changing what is taught in schools or colleges to make it better or more up-to-date.
2030 -: 2030 is a year in the future, 7 years from now.
2 lakh -: 2 lakh means 200,000. In India, ‘lakh’ is a term used to represent 100,000.
Electric vehicles -: Electric vehicles are cars or other vehicles that run on electricity instead of petrol or diesel.
Rs 13,552 crore -: Rs 13,552 crore is a large amount of money. In India, ‘crore’ means 10 million, so this is 135.52 billion rupees.
