Human Capital-Related Challenges in Electric Vehicle Supply Chain

There is a rapidly growing global market for electric vehicles (EVs) motivated by climate change, energy security and cleaner transportation. This shift comes with its own opportunities and challenges for South Asian countries like, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Although there is potential economic and environmental benefits in the EV industry, it also reveals a major challenge in the area: The deficiency of skilled human capital to develop and sustain the EV supply chain. This research addresses the major workforce-related obstacles such as deficiencies of technical knowledge and skills, inadequate educational curricula, and scarcity of specialized training in such fields as battery technology, EV manufacturing, and electric power systems. The study shows that these gaps in the human capital are associated with underlying systemic issues such as weak industry–academia linkages, low government investment towards technical education, and little innovation in skill building. Much of the workforce in unqualified to answer to the EV challenge posed by its moving target technology. In addition to this, geographic inequality, low female participation in STEM subjects, and limited upskilling and reskilling opportunities are also slowing progress. Left unattended, these challenges risk stalling the region’s transition to a sustainable and competitive EV sector. The study further suggests extensive interventions including renovating of technical courses, promoting linkage of educational institutions and EV companies and devising policies for nurturing green skills to overcome these constraints. Building human capacity is critical to helping South Asian nations effectively plug into the EV global market. By addressing the skills gap and matching workforce development with industry demand, the region has the opportunity to expedite the transformation into a low-carbon, innovation-led economy.