India’s renewable energy sector faces leadership talent crisis: Report
A study by WalkWater Talent Advisors says there is a clear gap in leadership talent and organisations are looking for talent from the same pool, leading to noticeable shortage.
- Aug 30, 2024,
- Updated Aug 30, 2024 12:39 PM IST
There is a significant leadership talent crisis in India’s rapidly growing renewable energy sector as a strong preference for talent with prior renewable energy experience is limiting the inflow of fresh ideas and perspectives, a study has found.
The study by WalkWater Talent Advisors, an executive search firms, surveyed 65 organisations and tracked the movement of 204 CXOs over the past three years. The findings reveal a stark shortage of leadership talent, further underscored by the sector’s rapid expansion and increasing complexities of renewable energy projects.
The study found that the renewable energy industry has onboarded a high number of CXOs since 2021. Pf them, 56% of leadership hires have been COOs, followed by CFOs at 47% and CBDOs at 45%.
Kunal Girap, Co-Founder and Director of WalkWater Talent Advisors, said the renewable energy sector is experiencing an unprecedented boom, with organisations seeing a surge in orders that are fuelling rapid expansion.
“However, the talent pool, particularly in leadership, has not kept pace with this growth. This mismatch threatens the sector’s capacity to capitalize on the market’s potential. Our study highlights the critical leadership shortage and its implications for the sector’s future. It is essential for the industry to adopt a more inclusive approach to talent acquisition, considering candidates from across sectors and investing in targeted leadership development programmes,” he said.
According to study, talent in niche roles such as land acquisition, design engineering, policy and regulation are becoming critical bottlenecks in the renewable industry. These roles are essential for the successful development and implementation of RE projects that often face challenges such as regulatory complexities, land unavailability and grid connectivity.
“The organisations are not considering talent from allied industries and have no time to experiment with new talent, further limiting the talent pool. The talent scarcity poses a significant challenge for sustaining long term success and effectively managing the increased workload,” the study added.
There is a significant leadership talent crisis in India’s rapidly growing renewable energy sector as a strong preference for talent with prior renewable energy experience is limiting the inflow of fresh ideas and perspectives, a study has found.
The study by WalkWater Talent Advisors, an executive search firms, surveyed 65 organisations and tracked the movement of 204 CXOs over the past three years. The findings reveal a stark shortage of leadership talent, further underscored by the sector’s rapid expansion and increasing complexities of renewable energy projects.
The study found that the renewable energy industry has onboarded a high number of CXOs since 2021. Pf them, 56% of leadership hires have been COOs, followed by CFOs at 47% and CBDOs at 45%.
Kunal Girap, Co-Founder and Director of WalkWater Talent Advisors, said the renewable energy sector is experiencing an unprecedented boom, with organisations seeing a surge in orders that are fuelling rapid expansion.
“However, the talent pool, particularly in leadership, has not kept pace with this growth. This mismatch threatens the sector’s capacity to capitalize on the market’s potential. Our study highlights the critical leadership shortage and its implications for the sector’s future. It is essential for the industry to adopt a more inclusive approach to talent acquisition, considering candidates from across sectors and investing in targeted leadership development programmes,” he said.
According to study, talent in niche roles such as land acquisition, design engineering, policy and regulation are becoming critical bottlenecks in the renewable industry. These roles are essential for the successful development and implementation of RE projects that often face challenges such as regulatory complexities, land unavailability and grid connectivity.
“The organisations are not considering talent from allied industries and have no time to experiment with new talent, further limiting the talent pool. The talent scarcity poses a significant challenge for sustaining long term success and effectively managing the increased workload,” the study added.