How Degree Apprenticeships Can Power the Green Hydrogen Workforce

The National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM), introduced by the Government of India in 2023, aims to turn India into a global hub for Green Hydrogen production. With an initial investment of INR 9,744 crore and the potential to create six lakh jobs by 2030, this is one of the most ambitious projects that can significantly impact the Indian economy.

NGHM is dependent on two key industries - electrolyser manufacturing and green hydrogen production - with the government approving 15 companies for a combined capacity of 3,000 MW for electrolyser manufacturing, and 19 companies for 8,62,000 tonnes of GH2 production.

But these ambitious plans can only be achieved with the availability of a suitable talent pool. This nascent industry requires a skilled workforce that the current academic curriculum is not equipped to provide. The skill gap becomes evident when considering the key job roles these industries are expected to generate, and only through industry-academia collaboration or public-private partnerships can the required manpower be trained in time to build and support this green technology.

According to the NSDC, over 78 percent of clean energy employers report difficulty in hiring talent with hands-on industry experience. A joint report by the Skill Council for Green Jobs and CEEW suggests that more than 65 percent of new roles in green hydrogen will require re-skilling or up-skilling beyond traditional engineering degrees.

In the electrolyser manufacturing industry, specialised job requirements like electrolyser design, system integration, and process control demand very specific skillsets that are currently not addressed by academic curricula.

Take the example of an electrolyser design engineer. This role focuses on creating, refining, and scaling hydrogen electrolyser systems to produce green hydrogen. It involves mechanical and electrical design, multi-physics modeling of mass and heat transfer, optimising for manufacturability and cost reduction, and collaborating with manufacturing and testing teams. These skills are not currently covered by any engineering degree offered under AICTE.

This is where an apprenticeship programme like TeamLease’s Degree Apprenticeship comes into play. Degree Apprenticeships combine paid industry experience with a formal academic degree. These programmes follow a dual-learning approach, where candidates work in real-world settings while studying industry-aligned subjects part-time.

By providing suitable candidates as apprentices to the industry, there is a focus on hands-on training, ensuring experiential learning through a combination of job exposure and conceptual knowledge. This can form the foundation for employers to build a scalable and sustainable talent pool. 

In the green hydrogen production sector as well, similar challenges exist in GH2 storage and handling, safety protocols, and equipment diagnostics.

The manpower required for these tasks must be specifically trained for this industry. However, the challenge remains in acquiring and nurturing such talent. Degree Apprenticeships aim to solve these problems by creating a dedicated talent pool that is highly skilled for specific requirements, while also reducing the cost of hiring and training. By leveraging apprenticeships, organisations in this sector can scale up faster to align with the goals under NGHM.

This model is also supported by the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and the NEP 2020, both of which encourage academic institutions to integrate work-based learning pathways within degree programmes. With UGC and AICTE increasingly recognising the value of dual-track education models, the policy infrastructure is already in place.

Even the R&D ecosystem associated with this sector is poised for massive growth and hiring. The government has already approved 23 projects, with more than 100 under consideration. These R&D projects will require people with highly specialised skillsets, which can only be developed through a close, symbiotic relationship between industry and educational institutions.

Skills like catalyst development and material science can only be acquired through experiential learning – a key advantage of degree apprenticeship programmes. Highly successful programmes like the BSc Mechatronics by TeamLease, demonstrate that the way forward in creating a sustainable talent pipeline for the Green Hydrogen ecosystem, is through carefully embedding degree apprenticeships in the industries.

With the first green hydrogen plant in the port sector recently inaugurated at Kandla, Gujarat, and 15 more states notifying their own hydrogen policies, this green industry is gathering the momentum needed to turn India into the global hub of green hydrogen production. If India requires six lakh skilled employees to achieve its 2030 NGHM goals, degree apprenticeships are the support structure to train and prepare this workforce on time and on track.

To fully embed degree apprenticeships in the green hydrogen ecosystem, it is critical that industry partners proactively with training and academic providers, academia co-develops modular, hydrogen-focused curricula, and policymakers ensure streamlined approval, funding, and recognition mechanisms. This triad of collaboration will ensure India builds a future-ready, skilled, and sustainable green workforce.

                                               - Dr. Nipun Sharma, CEO, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship