Carmakers in India are looking for a new breed of techies in a changing market

• Despite a subdued forecast for sales in the short-term, India’s auto manufacturers are all set to ramp up hiring this fiscal year.
  
• Carmakers as well as auto parts makers will mostly be on the lookout for skilled and technologically savvy labour - a sign of a changing market.
  
• In response to emissions norms, new technologies and the need to boost manufacturing capacity this year, hiring in the auto industry could increase by as much as 15% this year.
  

Despite a subdued forecast for sales in the short-term, India’s auto manufacturers are all set to ramp up hiring this fiscal year, according to ET.

It’s not blue-collar workers they’re after, though or just mechanical engineers. Carmakers as well as auto parts makers will mostly be on the lookout for advanced skills and technologically astute labour - a sign of a changing market.

In response to emissions norms, new technologies and the need to boost manufacturing capacity this year, hiring in the auto industry could increase by as much as 15% this year, as per a survey by PeopleStrong, a Gurugram-based HR services firm.

The industry is preparing for the introduction of new technologies such as Internet of Things, self-driving cars, 5G connectivity and will need to hire R&D people and engineers adept at developing and implementing them.

Capacity addition is also taking centre stage. For example, RC Bhargava, the chairman of Maruti Suzuki, told ET that the company could hire 3,000 people for a second plant in Gujarat this year.

Mahindra & Mahindra, meanwhile, is specifically looking at hires in the digital and emerging technologies space.

However, the hiring wave in the industry will likely commence after the general elections slump. Car sales will be sluggish in the buildup to and immediate aftermath of elections but should take off soon after.

Furthermore, as new regulations and safety and emissions norms kick in once the new government is installed, it will give car makers a clearer position from which to hire.

India’s auto industry is coming off its slowest annual sales growth in five years. Passenger vehicle sales grew by around 3% to a mere 3.4 million units amid higher insurance costs, a financing crunch and election uncertainty.


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