The second wave of Covid-19 caused major disruption across sectors but the IT sector seems to have bounced back fast. The hiring activity that came to standstill at the start of FY21 -- and even saw a decline of 9,000 -- has seen a rise with net addition of 40,000 in Q1 FY22.
The big three of India's tech services sector, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro, have aggressive plans for the financial year and aim to hire over 1 lakh freshers. While TCS added over 20,000 employees in the first quarter -- its highest addition in a single quarter -- Infosys added 8,300 employees and Wipro 12,000 as demand for talent continued to rise in India.
TCS hiring
TCS has said it will hire over 40,000 freshers from campuses across India in the current fiscal. India's biggest IT service firm already has over 5 lakh people in its workforce, making it the largest employer in the sector.
The firm hired 40,000 graduates in 2020, and is aiming for even greater numbers this time, said Milind Lakkad, Chief HR Officer at TCS. The company hired 2,000 trainees from the US campuses last year; it also aims to better this figure this year.
Lakkad said the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions do not pose difficulties in the hiring process. He said despite the raging COVID-19 pandemic, 3.60 lakh freshers appeared for an entrance test virtually last year.
"From the campus in India, we hired 40,000 last year. We will continue to hire and hire 40,000 or more this year in India," Lakkad said. The Chief HR Officer added that lateral hiring is expected to be "robust" this season.
Also read: TCS Q1 revenue up 18.5%, profit rises 29% to Rs 9,008 cr but misses estimates
Infosys
Infosys plans to expand its hiring programme of college graduates for FY22 to about 35,000 globally. Infosys' total headcount stood at 2,67,953 people at the end of the June 2021 quarter, while its voluntary attrition rate was at 13.9 per cent.
"As the demand for digital talent explodes, rising attrition in the industry poses a near-term challenge. We plan to meet this demand by expanding our hiring program of college graduates for FY 22 to 35,000 globally," Infosys Chief Operating Officer Pravin Rao said.
Also read: Infosys reports Q1 profit at Rs 5,195 cr; misses expectations
Wipro
The company's IT services workforce crossed the milestone of the 2 lakh mark with total headcount at 2,09,890. In June 2021, Wipro issued its first-ever dollar-denominated bond offering of $750 million with a 5-year tenor.
Wipro said in Q1 FY22, over 10,000 people were lateral hires, while around 2,000 freshers were onboarded. Wipro plans to hire 6,000 freshers in the second quarter alone. In total, Wipro plans to send 30,000 offer letters to join in FY23, of which 22,000 will be freshers.
Also read: Wipro delivers 'best-ever' quarterly performance; Q1 profit up 35% to Rs 3,230 cr