Hiring in the IT industry in India is expected to further slowdown in next few years and will affect both freshers and experienced. According to Subramanyam S., founder and CEO of Bengaluru-based HR company Ascent HR, the fall in IT hiring is expected due to overall project size shrinking and the reducing pricing structure of the projects as customers are demanding value-based services at much lower price.
Another glaring trend which this expert believes is the fact that in a lot more IT companies is in full bench utilisation and do not have people on the bench. “Broadly speaking, bench utilisation has increased and in some companies there is minimal bench or no bench at all as they are fully using their manpower and not leaving them idle. Although campus hiring will continue, lateral hiring will be at its lowest levels as bench will be fully utilised and particularly senior and mid-level people will never be left idle on a bench,” explained Subramanyam.
Interestingly, he feels that though there is a lot of talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, they will never be able to take over IT jobs. “They can replace some mundane or repetitive jobs but when it comes to human interface at different strategic positions, they will never be able to replace them and there would always be requirement of skilled IT workforce in the industry,” added Subramanyam.
Also Read
- Q4 earnings: IT pack seen bracing for muted show amid weak global macros, tight spends
- What is causing mid-level talent crisis in IT? How is it affecting the industry?
- Govt moves for strict action against deepfakes, amended IT rules by next week
- Why IT services companies to continue with cost-cutting measures
According to him, HR outsourcing by companies is also showing a downward trend including in large IT services companies as they want to have a DNA of their own in terms of HR processes and want to do things on their own rather than outsource it to third-party HR service providers. “Start-ups in HR field are going to find it challenging as they will struggle to get their first few customers and until and unless they differentiate their offerings, they will find it difficult to get customers. Getting that first few big customers is the key. When I started the company in early 2000s, I found that around 25 companies were there in the HR field in Bengaluru. But now I find that only a handful of those are left that started at that time,” Subramanyam told THE WEEK. Apparently, Subramanyam's company Ascent HR services around 500 customers from around 27 countries in the field of HR and also provides technology solutions around HR.
He also stressed on the fact that online reskilling courses such as gamification can be helpful only in basic training programmes but high-end reskilling courses, especially at the senior levels can only be done through face-to-face interactions and classroom-type hands-on training sessions.
Regarding the issue of employment of scores of engineering graduates in the country, he stressed on the fact that industry and the academia need to work together and understand the requirements of the industry. “Regular interaction with industry representatives is the need of the hour in order to redesign engineering courses that are being offered by engineering colleges, especially tier-two engineering colleges to make their students employment ready,” he said.