An estimated 300,000 engineering, research and design jobs are likely to be created in India in the next three-four years, according to data provided exclusively to ET by Quess Digital Engineering Services, a division of Quess IT Staffing.
”There is a whole new format of GCCs that are emerging with demand for engineers in sectors such as aviation, automobile, tyre, component makers, electrical, among others,” said Vijay Sivaram, CEO of Quess IT Staffing.
In 2023 itself, there has been a 35-40% increase in demand for engineering and design talent from 2022, according to the estimates.
Prominent domains include cockpit and interior design, vehicle integration, crash and safety, infotainment development, electric vehicle-battery management systems (EV-BMS), Autosar (automobile software), 3D harness design, circuit design and high voltage wiring design, according to the Quess survey based on conversations with companies.
A large part of the demand will come from automobile and associated companies at a time when India is positioning itself as a manufacturing hub for green and sustainable transportation.
“Over the next five years, the businesses of auto captives are expected to grow multi-fold in India,” said Kavan Mukhtyar, partner and leader automotive at PWC India. “Auto GCCs will see a big boom as they have to do lots of innovation and product development– especially with the EV push–at an optimised cost. India offers the best opportunity with its huge talent pool as well as cost advantage.”
Others such as global aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus are also increasing the sourcing of aircraft components from India.
“The demand for engineers has surged in areas such as electric powertrains, artificial intelligence, battery technology and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS),” said Vijay. There is also a surge in demand for embedded engineering such as infotainment systems, battery management systems and hardware development. Mechanical engineering is in demand in cockpit, interior and exterior design as well as lightweight body design.
THREE KEY AREAS
Jobs are likely to be created in three areas–engineering and product development, shared services (HR, procurement, finance, etc.) and global IT support, Mukhtiyar said.
The demand will be for people who are at the cusp of mechanical, electrical and electronics engineering, said experts. Many companies are also looking at hiring talent from tier 2 and 3 engineering colleges and putting them through six months of training before they can be deployed, said Mukhtyar.
However, academics at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) were sceptical about actual job creation for the core streams of mechanical and electrical engineering.
“The point is there is also a lot of automation that is coming in, so how many jobs will be created remains to be seen,” said Babu Viswanathan, professor at the mechanical engineering department, IIT Madras.
Asim Tewari, professor, mechanical engineering, IIT Bombay, said: “Most will be manufacturing jobs. I don’t see many cutting-edge design jobs happening here.”