IT fresher hiring to stay muted as 2024 rolls in

Turbulent times are ahead for freshers seeking IT jobs as the global slowdown-hit Indian IT/Tech industry is estimated to hire a reduced 1.55 lakh freshers in FY2023-24 compared to the 2.3 lakh freshers it absorbed in the previous financial year, according to latest data from tech staffing & solutions provider TeamLease Digital.  

The IT services industry typically absorbs 20-25 per cent of the 1.5 million engineering graduates in India every year. But as firms are planning to cut back on hiring freshers due to a weak deal pipeline amid lingering recessionary fears in the US, FY24’s absorption is expected to halve to 10 per cent.

For instance, Infosys will not be visiting college campuses this year to hire freshers as the second largest Indian IT services company still has a “significant fresher bench” amid a demand decline in key markets such as the US.  

“The tech world is evolving rapidly, and we need to keep up. It is not just about companies broadening their hiring horizons, but also about ensuring that the talent pool of our country is ready for it,” said Krishna Vij, Business Head, TeamLease Digital. 

What’s more concerning is that amid muted market sentiments and intensified skills evaluation mechanisms, there is a widening skill gap amid freshers where only 45 per cent of applicants currently meet well-rounded proficiency expectations, the study revealed.   

The findings also reveal that companies are looking for a combination of soft skills like communication, problem-solving, teamwork, emotional intelligence etc. and hard skills, which involves technical proficiency in programming languages, software development methodologies, cloud computing, and data analytics. Along with this, freshers can also benefit from focusing on improving industry skills focusing on digital aptitude and proficiency in utilizing digital tools and technologies. 

In the euphoric days of 2021 up to September-October 2022, the likes of TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL, Tech Mahindra, Cognizant, Accenture and several other IT firms hired 800,000 freshers over the past two financial years, as per staffing firm TeamLease Digital and industry estimates.  Besides, several thousands of freshers from the 2022 and 2023 batches of engineering colleges who bagged jobs with IT services companies, on- or off campus, are facing endless onboarding delays. 

The silver lining, however, is that while major IT companies freeze fresher intake, alternative sectors are opening up demand, marking a shift in the hiring landscape. Global Capability Centers (GCCs) and non-tech sectors like BFSI, Communication, Media and Technology, Retail and Consumer Business, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Engineering Research and Development, and Energy and Resources, have expanded entry-level hiring. 

Meanwhile, the study pointed out that courses to boost employability for engineering freshers include Data Science with R Certification, SQL Certification Training, Postgraduate Programs in Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Machine Learning, Digital Marketing, as well as Professional Certificate Programs in Blockchain and Web Design Certification, among others. 

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