Companies are looking for recruits with a wider palette of skills in energy segment with sustainability at the core of demand. According to Ambika Prasad Dash, Dean at the NTPC School of Business, there is a need to have more or new courses to meet the energy transition requirement in conventional companies.

Speaking to BusinessLine , Dash said, “There are a lot of issues coming up with the environment. Whether it is the oil, gas, or power business, it is very important that every employee has to be in sync with the latest environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) knowledge. Something more is needed beyond the present certification parameters. There is a huge need for that gap to be filled up.”

According to Dash, “Our students are being taught the COP-21 goals, and environment standards. So, irrespective of the business you have to be savvy with the ESG. This is one area where there is a need for new certification and we are going to start this within the next six months,” he said.

Updated skills

The NTPC School of Business (NSB) was set up in 2014 with the aim to nurture human capital for the entire energy sector. “Companies always look for cutting edge technology specialisation. There is a lot of weight being put on the Hydrogen economy, so our course curriculum has been modified accordingly to give students knowledge of the same,” Dash said.

“NTPC is now operating in the entire power sector value chain. So now they try to look for candidates who have complete knowledge of the energy sector. Keeping that in view, the specialised energy sector business schools also prepare a curriculum for that requirement. So, in addition to purely the power sector, the skill set also covers oil, gas, and renewable.”

“Of late it has been seen that renewable energy has grown exponentially, so there is quite a demand supply gap for new graduates in renewable energy management,” he added.

Pointing out where the biggest skill gap is, Dash said, “Aspirants with purely technical skills are available because of the diploma and degree level education. But what is conspicuously absent is the techno-managerial. This is a big gap which is being felt very dearly by the sector. With a more market-oriented energy sector developing, engineers need to upskill so that they remain competitive. So even if you are a very good engineer, you have to have a managerial ability so that the market does not surprise you.”

“An engineer specialising in rooftop solar should also have knowledge and expertise in the transmission of solar. The skill set is now very diverse. There was a point of time when you said that you are a great engineer in electrical, but today you have a very clear demand for techno-managerial aptitude with exposure spreading over the entire value chain,” he added.