Prominent Indian IT Giants, TCS, Infosys, and Wipro, Contemplate 30% Reduction in Fresh Graduate Recruitment for FY24 Amidst Diminished Business Prospects, While Numerous Recent Engineering Graduates Encounter Prolonged Onboarding Delays and Uncertainties, Sparking Demands for Industry Reforms.
Leading IT services firms, such as TCS, Infosys, and Wipro, are poised to reduce their recruitment of recent graduates in the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) due to a weakened project pipeline and ongoing economic uncertainties in the United States. TeamLease Digital, a staffing agency, has forecasted a substantial 30 percent year-on-year decline in the hiring of fresh graduates during this period. This stands in stark contrast to the robust hiring spree witnessed in the tech industry from 2021 through September-October 2022.
Furthermore, a significant number of recent engineering graduates from the classes of 2022 and 2023, who had secured job offers from IT services companies, are facing persistent delays in their onboarding processes. Some have not received any communication regarding their joining dates, despite being promised jobs over a year ago. Others have encountered repeated postponements in their joining dates, while a few have been required to undergo additional training, even as their offer letters approach their expiration dates. In unfortunate cases, job offers have been rescinded entirely, leaving these young professionals in a state of uncertainty within the tech job market, according to a Business Today report.
Harpreet Singh Saluja, President of the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), has received complaints from as many as 20,000-25,000 students belonging to these two recent batches, expressing concerns about onboarding delays. Saluja questions the wisdom of issuing such a large number of offer letters to fresh graduates when the business climate was not conducive to hiring.
Industry veterans, including T.V. Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Aarin Capital and former CFO of Infosys, believe that companies should prioritize onboarding recent graduates and providing immediate training, even if it results in financial losses for a few quarters. Vineet Nayar, Founder Chairman of Sampark Foundation and former CEO of HCL Technologies, emphasizes that growth will eventually return, and it is wise to build trust and respect by onboarding fresh talent now.
Prabir Jha, Founder and CEO of Prabir Jha People Advisory, highlights the importance of honoring onboarding timelines or withdrawing offers to maintain transparency and integrity in the hiring process. Experts stress the need for the IT industry to attract top talent from Tier II colleges by trimming excessive workforce and offering more competitive salaries to fresh graduates.
Pai suggests reducing middle-level positions and increasing compensation for fresh graduates while letting go of highly paid but non-productive senior employees. Jha emphasizes the importance of genuine role-based promotions to control costs. Nayar recommends revisiting campus recruitment with five-year salary projections, underscoring that investing in employees during both downturns and upswings is crucial for long-term success in the people-centric IT services sector. As the industry grapples with these challenges, it remains imperative for companies to adapt and secure their future by prioritizing fresh talent and responsible hiring practices.
