A Mercom India study has found that solar industry employers across project development, manufacturing, rooftop solar, and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) often need to spend months training fresh graduates before they are ready to contribute effectively.
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 Bridging India’s Solar Talent Gap – Aligning Academia with Industry Needs.
Based on responses from more than 100 industry participants across four major solar segments—utility-scale, manufacturing, rooftop, and engineering, procurement, and construction—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.
“India’s solar industry is expanding rapidly, but the talent pipeline is not keeping pace with what companies need,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group. “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.”
According to the report, nearly three-quarters (74%) of manufacturing respondents said fresh graduates take 3 to 12 months to become productive, while another 7.4% said the process takes more than a year. Forty percent (40%) of respondents said 25% to 50% of new hires need retraining, while 29.6% said 51% to 75% require retraining.
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 respondents (50%) believe fresh graduates do not understand grid congestion and curtailment risks. EPC companies also reported extended ramp-up periods.
Fifty-four percent (54%) 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 the skill gap varies across the solar value chain. Among utility-scale developers, 75% reported a 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 a lack of basic industry knowledge at over 33%. Respondents also reported gaps 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.
More than 83% of respondents in every segment said they would or may support internships, site exposure, factory visits, or training partnerships. Manufacturers showed the strongest interest at 96%, indicating substantial scope for structured industry-academia collaboration centered on practical and industry-relevant training.
“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.
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