India's EPC sector hiring surges 51 per cent in 5 years

New Delhi, Dec 6 India’s Engineering, Procurement and Construction sector has seen a surge in hiring by 51 per cent since 2020, acquiring 2,27,000 professionals in the last four quarters, a report said on Saturday.

The report from HR solutions firm CIEL HR, showed that Tier‑1 cities accounted for 80 per cent of demand, led by Mumbai (23 per cent) and Delhi (22 per cent), while Tier‑2 and Tier‑3 centres such as Lucknow, Jaipur, Coimbatore and Visakhapatnam showed demand for execution‑focused roles.

Roads and Highways made up the largest share of hiring at 26 per cent, followed by power transmission and distribution at 15 per cent and renewables at 14 per cent.

The EPC sector is being powered simultaneously by India’s infrastructure build-out and its clean-energy transition, the report highlighted.

It also pointed out acute talent shortages across experienced roles.

Despite emerging capabilities, 60 per cent of vacancies target professionals with more than six years’ experience, creating acute gaps in specialist roles such as commissioning engineers, protection engineers, BMS specialists, road‑safety engineers, TBM tunnelling experts, UPS cooling system engineers and BESS engineers, the report noted

These shortages are most pronounced in fast-growing clusters, including roads & highways, metro systems and renewables.

"As projects become more technology-intensive and execution cycles shorten, organisations must strengthen their focus on talent development and engagement, not just recruitment,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, Managing Director & CEO of CIEL HR.

Building robust learning ecosystems, investing in skill assessment and upskilling, and creating a culture that values continuous learning will be vital to sustaining productivity and safety on the ground, he added.

The top 10 EPC companies accounted for about 20 per cent of demand, the report said. Women’s participation stood at 14 per cent, well below the levels seen in the IT and retail sectors

While the participation rate is relatively low, there have been concerted efforts in recent years to improve gender inclusivity, such as policies promoting women’s workforce entry and targeted skill development programs, the report noted.

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