Swan Defence and Heavy Industries Ltd (SDHI) plans to hire more than 550 people across white-collar and blue-collar roles by March 2027 as it expands shipbuilding, repair and refit operations at its west coast shipyard, the company said on Tuesday.
The planned recruitment will cover project management, design, supply chain management, heavy fabrication and civil works. SDHI also plans to strengthen its workforce in specialised trades, including precision welding, fitting and pipework, according to a company statement.
The hiring programme will support the execution of the shipyard’s ongoing projects and is expected to increase demand for skilled industrial labour around the facility. The company said the projects could create at least 5,000 additional jobs over the next two to three years through vendors and supply-chain partners.
That wider employment estimate includes opportunities beyond SDHI’s direct workforce. Suppliers, contractors and service providers connected to shipbuilding and heavy fabrication are expected to benefit as project activity scales up, the company said. The statement did not provide a location-wise breakdown of the projected jobs or details of the individual projects supporting the estimate.
The recruitment will include both technical and managerial positions. While roles such as project management and design will support planning and execution, heavy fabrication, civil works, welding, fitting and pipework will be tied more directly to shipyard operations and production activity.
SDHI said it launched SWAVALAMBAN last year to develop a skilled domestic maritime workforce. The training initiative is backed by the government and academia and combines sourcing, pre-onboarding, technical induction, mentorship and shop-floor deployment in a single programme.
The model is intended to connect recruitment with workplace training and operational deployment. For a shipyard, this is particularly relevant to specialised trades where workforce availability and technical readiness can affect project execution. The company’s announcement did not specify how many of the planned 550 hires would be recruited through SWAVALAMBAN.
SDHI was formerly known as Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd. It operates a shipbuilding and heavy fabrication facility on India’s west coast, close to key global trade routes. The company said the shipyard has the country’s largest dry dock, measuring 662 metres by 65 metres, and fabrication capacity of 164,000 tonnes per annum.
The size of the facility places the recruitment announcement within a larger industrial ecosystem rather than a standalone corporate hiring exercise. Direct employment at the shipyard is expected to be accompanied by work for contractors, equipment suppliers, logistics providers and other businesses supporting construction, repair and refit activity. However, the company has not announced a detailed schedule for the 5,000 indirect jobs or identified the specific vendor categories involved.
SDHI’s stated target is to complete the additional hiring by March 2027. The company’s next steps will involve staffing its new-build, repair and refit operations while continuing the training and deployment pipeline under SWAVALAMBAN.
