Auto sector to see uptick in hiring this fiscal
The top five automakers and component manufacturers together employ about 1.5 lakh people, according to industry estimates.
MUMBAI: India’s automobile industry is expected to step up hiring over the next year as new products and technologies, expanding capacity and stiffer emission rules kick in, providing employment opportunities at both leading manufacturers as well as component makers.
The sector may see hiring go up by 10-15% in the 2020 financial year compared with the previous fiscal year, according to a recent study by human resource services firm PeopleStrong, although executive search experts predict that the numbers will be tepid in the next two to three months due to the general elections.
“Capacities are being created which require people,” said Maruti SuzukiNSE -0.10 % India chairman RC Bhargava, pegging the company’s requirement at between 2,000 and 3,000 people once its second plant in Gujarat is commissioned.
“Also, when the Suzuki-Toyota alliance (which will make the Vitara Brezza crossover and the Toyota minivan at each other’s factories) goes onstream, additional capacity creation will be necessary,” said Bhargava.
Tata Motors NSE 0.50 % is planning to hire 2,500 whitecollar employees in the next two years, which include replacement against natural attrition and retirement, India’s largest automaker by revenue told ET earlier.
“Hiring is picking up in the space of connected technologies (AI and automation-related). Skills around digital IoT, 5G connectivity, coding and ADAS (Advance Driving Assistance System) will be the key focus areas in future,” said Kiran Kumar, founding member and the chief of sales at PeopleStrong.
Currently, almost 10% of hiring in most organizations happens for these roles. And, we are expecting it to reach about 17-20% in the next 12-18 months,” he said.
Roles in research and development (R&D) and calibration are also expected to see an uptick in the next 12-18 months and will form about a quarter of the total hiring in the sector. In R&D, skills around design, engine and fuel along with electric vehicles are high on the radar of automakers.
“Hiring will be required not only at the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) levels but also at the vendor base,” said Bhargava.
The top five automakers and component manufacturer together employ about 1.5 lakh people, according to industry estimates.
“The spurt in demand for talent at automobile companies is being driven mostly by new technologies and new vehicle development,” said R Suresh, founder of boutique search and consulting firm INSIST Executive Search.
Fresh recruitment will mostly revolve around specific skillsets, largely in the area of new technology, said Rajeshwar Tripathi, chief people officer at Mahindra & Mahindra, India’s largest utility vehicles maker.
The industry will see a series of new regulation in the next 12-15 months and the need for skilled labour or embedded technology will significantly increase, said Aswin Kumar, programme manager, mobility (automotive and transportation) at consultancy Frost & Sullivan.
“The automotive market is expected to bounce back to a 7-8% growth rate in FY20,” he said.
Automobile companies will have to comply with tougher emission norms as they near the April 2020 deadline for Euro VI emission norms.
“The new norms will lead to vehicle prices going up significantly and this would mean a lot of prebuying by consumers,” said Vinnie Mehta, director-general of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA).
The component industry needs to ramp up capacity much in advance, which calls for hiring among the vendors.”
Several carmakers such as Kia Motors, MG Motors and the Toyota-Suzuki alliance are setting up fresh capacity, which will also create more employment opportunities, said Mehta of ACMA.
This article was published on The Economic Times
