Biography
Biography: Usha Bajpai
Abstract
Skill is the learned ability to carry out a task with pre-determined results often within a given amount of time, energy or both. The rapid growth in renewable energy sector requires an extensive pool of competent manpower (skilled and knowledgeable) to design, install and maintain the renewable energy systems. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India had proactively initiated a project to estimate the future human resource needs in the renewable energy sector and evolve suitable human resource development strategies for meeting them. The strategies involved were to analyze trends in renewable energy industry, quantification of existing job opportunities in different functional areas, estimation of manpower requirements in renewable energy sector in short term (5 years) and medium term (5-10 years), map the skill requirements at different functional levels, develop sector wise human resource development strategies, develop strategies for possible partnership models between industry, institutions, academia and government towards skill development and develop inputs to integrate renewable energy into the current curricula at industrial training institutes, polytechnics and universities. The skill requirements for renewable energy technologies are unique in nature and vary widely across different sub-sectors. Certain skill requirements are common across all sectors of renewable energy, i.e. mechanical, electrical, installation and maintenance skills. A few other skills are unique to specific sectors i.e. wind resource assessment, techno-commercial marketing, installation of building-integrated photovoltaic systems, boiler and turbine operation, maintenance of biomass power plants, design and operation of biogas plants are highly specific. The skill mapping survey carried out by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India with the Confederation of Indian Industry in a study covered the sub-sectors of renewable energy like wind energy, solar photovoltaic conversion, solar thermal conversion, small hydro power and biomass/biogas. Function-wise skill gaps in each of the sub-sectors included research and development, project development and consultancy, manufacturing, construction and installation, operation and maintenance and marketing activities. Recently, the Government of India has created a new Ministry called the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the State Governments also created such setups for all round skill development in the entire spectrum of the Indian economy. National Skills Qualification Framework has been adopted and several innovative programs including Bachelor of Vocation programs have been started in renewable energy technologies. With all these efforts of the Government of India, development of required skills in renewable energy will be reality in the near future.