Indian IT sector scouting for high skilled talent
While AI adoption resulting in trimming headcount, tech firms searching for right talent
image for illustrative purpose
Bengaluru: Hiring of skilled talent remains strong in the IT industry at a time when layoffs are being done by top IT services companies as AI-powered platforms automate repetitive tasks. Sources in the HR industry said that while people are losing jobs owing to talent mismatch in the AI space in one hand, rush for hiring skilled talent is another phenomenon that the IT industry is witnessing as of now.
“Demand for skilled talent remains high. Especially, there is robust demand for highly-skilled individuals. From startups, GCCs, IT firms to non-tech companies, each entity is looking for hiring high-skilled individuals. In the case of non-tech companies like finance, retail & manufacturing, these entities are very particular about their privacy and don’t want to work with open-sourced software. They want to build their own platforms on ChatGPT kind of models. That is the reason that these companies are hiring highly-skilled technology professionals,” Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO of CIEL HR, told Bizz Buzz.
“We are witnessing these technology professionals getting 50 per cent hike, getting multiple job offers, and they are also declining job offers,” he added.
Global IT services industry is going through a lot of churning owing to rapid adoption of AI. Many IT firms are reducing their headcount as AI-powered solutions automate several tasks. Layoffs are also happening due to skill mismatch.
Global IT services & consulting firm, Accenture has paid off around 11,000 employees in the past three months. According to Accenture’s CEO, Julie Sweet the company has let go off those staffers, where it can’t retrain with AI skills.
“We are exiting on a compressed timeline, people where reskilling, based on our experience, is not a viable path for the skills we need,” she has said in the analyst meet.
At the end of August quarter, Accenture’s total headcount fell to 779,000 from 791,000 earlier.
Among Indian service providers, TCS has announced to reduce its headcount by 12,000 people in phases citing skill mismatch.
On overall hiring front, HR experts said that companies are in a wait and watch mode.
“Companies are in a wait and watch mode due to uncertainties,” Mishra of CIEL HR said.
As the Trump administration’s tariff norms have created business uncertainty among enterprises, they are not keen to commit large investments in the technology space. Moreover, adoption of AI is increasing amid such geopolitical flux as enterprises are looking at automating tasks through AI-powered solutions.
