TCS to hire 40,000 freshers from campuses in current fiscal

IT service industry giant Tata Consultancy Services (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, explained Milind Lakkad, Chief HR Officer at TCS, news agency PTI reported. The firm hired 2,000 trainees from the US campuses last year; it also aims to better this figure this year. However, Lakkad did not share the exact figures.  

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.

Lakkad conveyed that a lot of planning goes into hiring from campuses and it is not ''just-in-time'' hiring when a business deal gets signed up. He explained that it takes over three months before a resource gets on a project.

Lakkad said that TCS expects the very low attrition of 8 per cent to go up once the situation normalises. He added that the normal attrition levels are between 11-12 per cent. "Even if the attrition goes up, the company's operating model can ensure that the work or margins are not impacted," he added.

TCS COO N Ganapathy Subramaniam said there is no shortage of talent supply in the country and also disagreed with concerns regarding its cost. Subramaniam termed Indian talent as "phenomenal" given their skill sets and the work culture.

TCS CEO & MD Rajesh Gopinathan said it is often asked if the organisation is too large but added the way the company is structured makes it possible from a management and 'nimble-footedness' perspective.

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