IT sector is likely to hire 10% more freshers in 2020, say experts

The IT sector is likely to hire 10 per cent more freshers in 2020, even as the overall recruitment in this space may remain at the current level.
 
According to various estimates, the net addition of new jobs in the IT sector is likely to be more than 100,000 in 2020, of which around 40 per cent will go to fresh graduates from engineering colleges.
 
Experts in the human resources (HR) consultancy space said that mid-level staffers with more than six years of experience will continue to face pressure this year as IT firms are likely to reduce count in this level.
 
“We expect the share of fresher hiring to go up to around 35-40 per cent of net hiring in 2020, as compared to 25-30 per cent last year,” said Supaul Chanda, business head at TeamLease Digital. “However, mid-level hiring will continue to remain subdued.”
 
Last year, market leader Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) had made offers to 30,000 engineers from campuses; Infosys made 18,000 during this period. Wipro has plans to hire 20,000 fresh graduates in the current financial year (FY20).
 
Data points on the number of freshers who have actually been on-boarded are not available.
 
“Job creation will happen in fresher and junior levels (one-five years of experience). This is mainly because of cost pressure faced by IT firms, which want to make their employee pyramids right,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, director & CEO at CIEL HR Services. "According to our estimates, fresher hiring is likely to grow in high single-digit in 2020.”
 
In anticipation of demand, domestic IT services firms added more employees in the April-September period of FY20. The top five IT firms — TCS, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra — added 64,332 employees in the first six months of the ongoing financial year, which is 18 per cent more than the corresponding period of FY19.
 
At the same time, many companies reduced their headcount in the mid-level as part of their cost optimisation measures. While Cognizant announced to reduce its headcount by around 12,000 in the next few quarters, Infosys, TCS, and Wipro, among others, are trimming job roles at this level.
 
People in the know said the total number of layoffs in the IT industry is likely to be more than 50,000 in 2019.
 
Despite the pressure on mid- and senior-level staffers, HR consultants said that hiring in the leadership role (CXO level and above) will remain robust.

 
“While IT firms are reducing staffers at the mid-level, CXO level hiring remains robust, which is likely to continue in 2020 as well,” said a senior consultant at a global HR consultancy firm. According to experts, GICs (global in-house centres) of multinational corporations, and start-ups are looking for more hiring at leadership roles as compared to traditional IT firms.