ETtech in-depth: does India have the required manpower to become the electronics manufacturing powerhouse?

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

electronics manufacturing sector will need more than 63 lakh trained shop-floor workers, purchasing managers and engineers in the next 18 to 24 months, across varied roles in equipment service, integration and middleware departments.

Some of this demand will be fulfilled within the industry, as people move to greener pastures in search of better jobs and salaries. But most of the requirements will need to be fulfilled by freshers and college graduates.

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That, however, is easier said than done. The two industries combined currently face a demand-supply gap of about 5:3 per year for skilled workers, a senior executive at an electronics manufacturing company told ET. That means, out of the five roles the company advertises for, they end up hiring only three. “While we get multiple applications, a workforce-ready college graduate for the right cost is just not available. It is a multi-layered problem,” the executive said.

Problem to persist

This shortfall of skilled labour in the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing space is unlikely to be resolved in the near future, said Ajay Sharma, director of the National Institute of Technology in Delhi.

Higher education and research institutions, as well as vocational training centres such as the Industrial