Infosys placing emphasis on upskilling employees: Nandan Nilekani

Nandan Nilekani said that Infosys spares no effort in giving its employees opportunities to upskill and improve

Addressing shareholders at the company’s 42nd Annual General Meeting, Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani stated on Wednesday that the company places critical importance on upskilling and reskilling its employees, The Financial Express reported on Thursday. He communicated to shareholders that as employees become more skilled, they will have multiple career pathways into exciting technology spaces within the Infosys ecosystem.

“Through accelerated learning, when they complete certified courses and gain substantial experience in the skill set or technology, they qualify for skill tags,” he said. Nilekani added that the company spares no efforts in giving its employees opportunities to upskill and improve.

Bridge Programmes and intelligent platforms such as Accelerate and Marketplace automatically match employees with roles that align with their career goals. Nilekani also stated that over the past year, the firm has enabled over 5.5 million learning days for employees, who manage their digital skills using a comprehensive score called Digital Quotient. In the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), Infosys hired over 50,000 college graduates, bringing its total number of employees to 340,000.

The company’s outreach to equip people with digital skills was also highlighted by Nilekani. Infosys’ Springboard program has plans to educate 10 million-plus people, including students from class VI to lifelong learners,  about digital skills by 2025.

Nilekani also highlighted the company's deal wins in FY23. Infosys secured 95 large deals valued at $9.8 billion in the fiscal ended March 31, 2023 and 40 per cent of these were net new deals, Nilekani told shareholders at the AGM. "This promises a solid foundation to grow and build resilience in the months to come," he added.

Nilekani also discussed the AI-first business strategy adopted by Infosys and said the strategy is working well for the company despite unresolved ethical and intellectual property-related (IPR) issues around the technology,  "We also know that the motto of scaling AI in the enterprise is far from simple. And yet, the AI-first strategy we're embracing is already working for us," Nilekani said.

Nilekani said the company can be more efficient while nurturing readiness for growth, given its performance in challenging scenarios created by inflation, interest rates, and demand volatility.