Siddharth Pai
The upheaval caused by the pandemic in terms of our work and careers is not yet fully understood. As organisations, we have been at the receiving end of momentous change, without the ability to respond sufficiently. This has been especially true in India’s information technology (IT) services industry as well as allied areas which use technology talent. Early in 2022, The Financial Express wrote of Wipro’s Rishad Premji statement that there was a huge mismatch between demand and the availability of talent. Premji went on to say that an inordinate amount of time and money was being spent in upskilling and reskilling people at the industry level.
Premji was right on target, but I think the mismatch was essentially a ‘self-goal’ by India’s IT services industry. A sudden, pandemic-driven upward blip in demand for remote tech talent was poorly managed by India’s IT majors, who poached each other’s staff for astronomical upticks in salaries. This led to salary cost becoming a significantly larger proportion of the industry’s costs than ever before. After their pandemic bloat, amid layoffs, IT majors IT Infosys, TCS, HCL Tech and Wipro hired less than 2,000 employees among them during the third quarter of FY23 against the net addition of 61,137 employees by the big four IT firms in the third quarter of FY22.
As in the past, this industry will correct for the bloat by hiring freshers at salaries that have remained essentially unchanged for 20 years, bringing them in to take the place of overpaid mid-level staff. This is the classic ‘pyramid rationalisation’ that one can eventually expect from every IT major. Sure enough, soon after, The New Indian Express reported in February that Wipro was cutting fresher’s salary offers by almost 50%.
To be fair to Wipro, the firm did not renege on its offers, it simply made what I think is a refreshingly candid admission that the macro environment has changed and that has caused it to change its on-boarding plans. Employees at other firms have not been as lucky as Wipro’s putative employees. IT major Cognizant recently announced that it was eliminating 3500 jobs. More carnage will follow, especially for mid-level employees.
With such churn, it is important to stay up to date with the latest trends and develop the skills that are in demand. Whether you’re an experienced professional or a fresher, there are opportunities for those who are willing to embrace change. As Premji pointed out, upskilling and reskilling are at the forefront. To my luck, I happen to serve on an independent advisory board for TeamLease EdTech, which focuses precisely on upskilling and reskilling workers. As such, I have access to their deeply researched 2023 January-June report, some of which I am going to share here:
The first thing to note is that many industries are still recovering, and some may take longer to bounce back than others. However, there are a few industries that are expected to thrive in 2023 and beyond. One such industry is healthcare. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of the healthcare sector, and there is likely to be a significant increase in demand for healthcare professionals over the coming years. Another trend that is likely to continue in 2023 is the gig economy which the pandemic accelerated, with many people turning to freelance work or ‘moonlighting’. While the gig economy offers flexibility, it comes with its own challenges. Freelancers need to be able to manage their finances and build a brand to attract clients. Also, gig economy system can exploit workers and deny them the moniker of “employee”, which removes worker access to benefits such as health care coverage, sick leave, and paid time off.
Interestingly, despite the recent bad press, all IT majors routinely use fresher hiring as a major engine to help them keep down costs. They will continue to hire freshers, and in droves. Even if one were to exclude IT majors, the technology industry in general is expected to continue growing in 2023. As digital transformation accelerates, companies are increasingly reliant on technology to drive growth and innovation. In fact, non-IT services firms are planning to hire up to 1 million techies by FY 2028.
The job market is not just about industries, though. The report points out that skills required to succeed in the job market are also changing. With automation and artificial intelligence (AI) becoming more prevalent, there is a growing demand for workers with skills that complement these technologies with skills like data analysis, machine learning, and of course, computer programming.
The report reveals that the job market for freshers in India looks promising, with 62% of employers surveyed indicating they will hire freshers during this period. The top job roles in demand for freshers include cloud developer, investment banking associate, cybersecurity engineer, marketing analyst, and biomedical engineer. Employers are looking for candidates with domain skills such as DevOps, corporate finance, AI, and project management. Soft skills such as negotiation and persuasive skills, cognitive flexibility, continual learning, and emotional intelligence are in demand. To increase their employability, the TeamLease EdTech report recommends that freshers can undertake courses for areas that are in demand such as certification in DevOps, supply chain management, data engineering, and business and corporate law.
The top three industries that are looking to hire freshers are IT, e-commerce & technology start-ups, and telecommunications, according to the TeamLease EdTech report. It also reveals that top Indian IT companies forecast that they will hire 155,000 freshers in the next financial year, and IT spending in India is expected to reach $144 billion in 2023.
India’s social commerce is also growing rapidly, with the potential to expand to $16-20 billion in the coming years, while India’s e-commerce market is expected to reach $111 billion by 2024. Additionally, the roll-out of 5G services by Indian telecom service providers is expected to create a demand for up to 45,000 jobs, with the telecom industry market crossing the $133 billion mark by 2023. The top three cities that intend to hire freshers during this time are Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi, indicating a strong demand for talent in these cities.
What is still unknown is how much long-term impact open-source platforms such as GitHub and now potentially generative AI such as ChatGPT will skew this market over the coming years, but at least for now, the report makes clear that well qualified freshers can heave a sigh of relief!
(The author is technology consultant and venture capitalist – By Invitation)