IT companies are increasingly hiring higher number of candidates with AI-related skills. For instance, till last year, candidates with these skills comprised around 10% of the total hiring, but this year their share is expected to go up to around 20-25%, analysts said. Further, going forward if companies decide to increase entry-level workforce by around 10%, half of it will comprise AI-based roles, according to Pareekh Jain, CEO of Pareekh Consulting.
“IT companies now need people with AI skills and it’s easier for freshers to pick up these skills than experienced people. But the supply among freshers with AI skills is not available so, IT companies are checking if the students have AI aptitude and if they have done any courses,” Jain said.
Recent data shows that 20-25% of fresher hiring in IT and tech companies now targets AI-related skills, a significant rise from 5-10%, three years ago, Krishna Vij, vice president, TeamLease Digital said.
“Industries have accelerated digital transformation, making digitally skilled talent essential, with AI taking the centre stage in business strategies. The demand will naturally lead to an increase, as higher demand inherently drives the numbers up,” Vij said.
She added that companies are prioritising candidates with problem-solving abilities, logical reasoning, and adaptability, going beyond traditional programming expertise.
This trend reflects the growing emphasis on innovative talent to address evolving industry needs. With the rise of digital transformation across sectors, the demand for AI expertise has naturally driven up hiring for such skills.
HCLTech, one of the leading IT services firms, is also recalibrating its hiring strategies. Chief people officer, Ramachandran Sundararajan, said during the July-September press conference that the company will look more towards specialised skills in their recruitment cycle for fiscal year 2026.
“Into FY26, the cycle that we are recruiting now, I think the focus is more going to be on specialisation that we will focus on in campuses, not just go by pure numbers. That’s what is going to be the focus, and those plans are getting finalised. It will be done during this quarter, but the campus program is on,” he said.
Freshers entering the workforce are now expected to optimise existing systems and adopt an agile mindset. Companies are increasingly looking for AI-related skills like proficiency in Python, R, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure, Vij said.
These proficiencies are assessed through coding tests, project portfolios, and technical interviews, aiming to identify individuals capable of implementing AI algorithms and automating processes.
According to the Naukri JobSpeak Index, while the broader IT sector faced contraction, job openings for artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) experienced a 20% year-on-year growth in hiring in November. Cities like Kolkata and Delhi-NCR led this surge with 58% and 47% growth, respectively.
The demand for AI/ML skills was mirrored by growth in Global Capability Centres (GCCs), which are transitioning from back-office operations to strategic hubs. GCCs registered a 62% year-on-year growth in strategy and management consulting roles, showcasing their evolving importance.
AI Impact on entry-level roles
The increasing reliance on AI is reshaping the IT industry, creating specialised roles like AI/ML engineers and data engineers while automating many entry-level positions. “Nearly 50% of AI-related jobs remain unmet, underlining the need for freshers to acquire relevant skills to fill this gap,” Vij said.
Traditional roles such as data entry, customer service, and basic software development are increasingly vulnerable to automation. AI-powered tools now handle routine tasks such as resume screening, data analysis, and customer inquiries, reducing the need for human intervention in these areas.
At the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2024, Rishad Premji, executive chairman, Wipro, had said that AI is the most disruptive transformation the technology industry has ever experienced and warned about the potential for job losses due to AI’s impact
“The reality is that there are going to be some jobs that will disappear,” he said, highlighting the need to bring people along in this transformation.
He recommended shifting the focus from job titles to the specific tasks within roles, as AI is likely to automate certain tasks while leaving others that require human involvement intact.
Premji also stressed the importance of ensuring safety and security in AI adoption while addressing biases in data sets. “We need to think about how we can take people along and also create the right guardrails to make it adoptable on scale quickly,” he said.