India Needs More EV Workers to Meet 2030 Goals, Says SIAM Report

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, according to a study by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). The ‘EV Skill Gap Study’ was released on Tuesday by Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Steel, HD Kumaraswamy, during a SIAM-organized workshop.

The report states that direct job creation due to the advent of EVs is expected to be around 2,00,000 jobs, excluding shop floor and contractual positions. A total talent investment of Rs 13,552 crore is expected for hiring and training the workforce. The Indian automotive industry will need up to two lakh skilled people by 2030 to meet the government’s vision of 30 percent electric vehicle adoption.

The report highlights that 43 percent of the technical competencies between Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and EV have minimal overlap, requiring fresh skilling of talent. On the other hand, 27 percent of technical competencies have a high overlap between ICE and EV, necessitating re-skilling of existing talent.

The estimated hiring cost would be Rs 7,671 crore, while the training cost would be around Rs 5,881 crore. The report also mentions that India would require 60 Automotive R&D centers by 2030. Additionally, only 57.44 percent of B.E. and B Tech graduates are employable, with even fewer being suitable for EV and digital roles. The report recommends curriculum revisions across 15 competencies in India and highlights a collective faculty shortfall of 38 percent across top engineering institutes. High-quality EV educators prefer working in the industry rather than in education.