Kamaljeet Kaur has over two decades of accomplished cross-industry experience in the human resources sector. In her present role, she leads the People function for the Gensol group entities with more than 2,000 employees across renewable energy, eMobility, and clean energy ecosystems. She spearheads organizational design and talent strategies that support the group’s business priorities and meet the ever-evolving needs of the workforce.
The renewable energy sector in India is experiencing a momentous growth in investments. At the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26), the government of India presented five nectar elements (Panchamrit) of India’s climate action and stands committed towards its ambition to achieve its net zero goals by 2070 and aims to achieve around 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030.
In order to address air pollution in mega cities and overdependence on fossil fuels, there’s a strong focus on the EV sector as well. As per reports by NITI Aayog, the Indian government has set an ambitious target of achieving 30 per cent EV penetration by 2030 and has implemented various policies and incentives to encourage EV adoption like tax exemptions, subsidies for EV buyers, and support for the development of charging infrastructure.
With these ambitions and bold targets, India is witnessing a huge shortage of skills in the sector which is redefining the hiring trends. Its targets include developing job roles, accrediting training organizations and training of trainers. According to the The ‘Gearing Up the Workforce for a Green Economy’ report by Skill Council for Green Jobs (SCGJ), India has the potential to create up to 35 million green jobs by 2047 across traditional and emerging sectors, including renewable energy, waste management, electric vehicles, green construction and sustainable textiles.
Some of the key trends being witnessed are as follows:
Emerging demand for Green Skills
There is a rising demand for skills in areas like Green Hydrogen, Battery Energy Storage, Grid Integration, Charging Infrastructure, EV Manufacturing and ADAS, Data Analytics, Data Science, Project Development, Regulatory and Project Management etc. At the execution level, experienced workforce in Civil & Electrical Design and Project Management of Solar, Wind, O&M and transmission lines are in huge demand. This demand is being bridged by companies adopting alternate strategies of hiring via Build, Buy and Borrow model.
Enhancing Diversity and Inclusion
The sector faces challenges related to diversity and inclusion. There is a notable gap in this sector and companies are making efforts to address this gap by promoting women in leadership positions, by providing mentorship and networking opportunities at entry & mid-level and by introducing conducive policies for enabling an environment suitable for women workforce. A lot of companies are giving additional incentives for referrals for a diversity candidate. Companies are now also tapping adjacent sectors to bring sectoral diversity.
Under the “Project Sakhi” initiative which focuses on inducting more women driver partners, BluSmart, a leading Electric Mobility company, has collaborated with various skill councils like Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) - India to empower 250 women drivers in Delhi-NCR to foster meaningful Employment Opportunities and with National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC), Navjyoti Foundation supported by Hyundai to train and skill women in driving EVs. This initiative aims to break down barriers and create a more inclusive and diverse workforce.
Partnerships with Skilling Institutes
India is the only country in the region where the government has established a Skills Council for Green Jobs (SCGJ) to identify the skilling needs and promote development to meet the job requirements for “green business” development. Companies are tying up with skill institutes to upskill the talent on Green Jobs. There is a lot of focus on building relationships with universities, research institutions, and industry associations to tap into their talent pools. Attending career fairs, hosting industry events, and collaborating with these organizations to create internship programs or research opportunities to attract their top talent has been highly adopted by the companies.
Employer Branding and having a compelling Employer Value Proposition
The purpose of organization is the reason for its existence. Research shows that a compelling purpose of any organization not only does better but also acts as a glue to the workforce to inspire them to outperform. We are moving towards more purposeful generations and our purpose led approach is what really helps us sustain engagement with our talent. A lot of companies through their employer branding initiative articulates their purpose, culture and workplace practices that attracts the talent. Today one cannot ignore the influence of social platforms like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Instagram, X, YouTube. A lot of companies and their leaders are advocating their company’s culture, purpose and ethos that helps to attract the talent. Platforms like Shark Tank, PodCasts have helped in the visibility of the Founders and startups. Founders in startups are considered to be the role models in today’s generation. In this era of social media, they have a lot of followers and are the brand pull. When they talk about brand, company culture and journey, people feel emotionally connected listening to their stories as these founders have lived these stories themselves.
Strong Background Verification and Value alignment
Most companies are now opting for background verification and discrete reference checks while hiring to ensure a strong role and culture fit. Background verification has today become one of the most essential checks needed to ascertain the fitment of the candidate. The consequence of a bad hiring not only impacts an organization from a financial angle but also impacts the business imperatives. Organizations today initiate the background verification process much in advance , before placing an offer to the candidate. This helps to gather feedback on past performance, employee records and behaviors of the person.
Internal Mobility
While the companies in the renewable sector are one the hiring spree, the need for internal mobility and employee development cannot be undermined. On the contrary, this is becoming a focus agenda for where companies are relying on the skilling and development of internal talent for newer jobs. The chances of them faring better and understanding the requirements of the business and culture remains relatively higher in the long run. As a part of the career journey of employees, companies are practicing the philosophy of three Es - Education, Experience & Exposure. Gensol Group’s people managers’ development program, GenNXT, is aimed at upskilling the middle managers. This cohort is the highest impact group which interfaces between the operating layer & the management, and constitutes the future leaders for the organization.
Emerging Technology trends in Hiring
The role of AI in Recruitment cannot be undermined and there has been a breakthrough . AI has significantly disrupted the way traditional hiring was being done. Some of these trends are enlisted below:
- Automated Resume Screening: AI algorithms can quickly analyze and screen through numerous resumes, identifying candidates that match specific criteria, saving time and improving efficiency in the initial stages of recruitment.
- Chatbots for Initial Interaction: Chatbots powered by AI can engage with job applicants, answer queries, and even conduct preliminary interviews, providing a more streamlined and efficient candidate experience.
- Candidate Matching: AI-based Matching Algorithms: Advanced algorithms use machine learning to match candidates with job requirements based on skills, experience, and other relevant factors, helping recruiters find the best-fit candidates more effectively.
- Application Tracking System – Companies are using an application tracking system that allows recruiters to manage the end to end recruitment process from job requisition to internal posting and onboarding.
- Video interviewing platforms allow recruiters to conduct remote interviews efficiently This helps for the recruiter to also record the interview
- Data Analytics plays a very important role in making decisions. A lot of analytics are being done on the demographic profile by the companies
Talent Acquisition is one of the strategic sub functions of the HR function. It is important that the Talent acquisition team adopts a multi pronged strategy to have the right talent in the right role. The coming years in the renewable sector will pose a lot of challenges for the HR function. Facing the challenges while being agile to overcome it with innovative technology-oriented solutions which are contextual and relevant is going to be the key.
