Cleantech Hiring up 56 pc in Two Years

Chennai: With the country moving towards Net Zero goal, the hiring by the CleanTech sector has gone up by 56.6 per cent over the past two years.

Companies in the renewable energy space, energy efficiency products and processes like smart grids and efficient building materials, green transportation, including EVs, water and wastewater treatment technologies, solid waste management, air quality control and carbon capture and utilization companies are on a hiring mode, finds a study by CIEL HR Services

Based on workforce data from 55 cleantech companies and national job portal trends, the study finds demand consistently outstripping supply across entry, mid and senior levels.

While India produces over a million engineering graduates annually, traditional colleges are not equipped to teach solar, wind and other renewable technologies. The demand for skilled professionals far exceeds current supply.

Talent demand has surged across all levels -skilled graduates, engineers, mid-level managers and CXOs.

Talent scarcity is increasingly driving compensation inflation across the sector, with 48 per cent of positions offering annual salaries of Rs 10 lakh and above, compared to 40 per cent in IT.

Engineering and project execution roles such as design engineers, process engineers and mechatronics engineers remain central to hiring, while digital and data expertise, including data analysts, AI-driven performance specialists and enterprise architects, is rising steadily. At the same time, regulatory and sustainability enterprise and stakeholder management skills are gaining prominence as companies scale projects across regions.

Delhi-NCR commands 44 per cent of total job openings, with Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities emerging as the second-largest hiring hubs.

The study further revealed a stark gender imbalance, with women accounting for just 11 per cent of the workforce and 15 per cent of leadership roles.

“India’s cleantech sector stands at a transformative juncture, poised to become a powerful economic engine that can shape India’s next phase of development. While growth is unprecedented, talent scarcity, skill gaps and underrepresentation of women in both workforce and leadership roles are emerging as key constraints,” Aditya Mishra, MD & CEO, CIEL HR said. end