German solar industry to address skills shortage with Indian electricians

On the occasion of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s state visit to India, the German Solar Industry Association (BSW) and the Indian Skill Council of Green Jobs (SCGJ), responsible for vocational schools, signed an agreement to integrate Indian skilled workers into the German solar industry. The signing ceremony took place in Delhi (pictured: Arpit Sharma, SCGJ and Jürgen Reinert, CEO of SMA Solar Technology AG for BSW).
The Indian Ministry of Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched a training program for professionals in the solar sector a few years ago, which also aims to combat youth unemployment in the country. The training program to become a »Suryamitra« or »solar worker« is a three-month qualification program for young electricians. The MNRE has set a goal of training 100,000 workers in the solar energy sector. To date, more than 51,000 »Suryamitras« have been trained under the program.
For the integration of skilled workers, the BSW is cooperating with the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Federal Employment Agency and AHK India (Indo-German Chamber of Commerce), among others, in the pilot project »Hand-in-Hand for international Talent.«
»We need more hands for the energy transition and want to secure the necessary massive expansion of solar energy with trained craftsmen, which we cannot find in Germany alone in view of the shortage of skilled workers,« said David Wedepohl, BSW managing director of international affairs. The association plans to further expand the integration of skilled workers from abroad into the solar industry after the new skilled worker immigration law comes into force this summer.
© PHOTON