20% drop in campus hiring likely in FY24

Bleak Outlook For Freshers

♦ August-September-October the period for campus placement

♦ Trend indicates most firms giving less number of offers

♦ Post pandemic, Indian IT cos were on hiring binge

♦ Top-4 firms hired a record 227,000 engg graduates in FY22

♦ Hiring among mid-tier companies also remained robust

This year, campus hiring will be little less as opportunities for freshers have come down. Fresher hiring numbers are likely to be lower than last year given the trend as campus hiring is going on since August - Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO, CIEL HR Services, tells Bizz Buzz

Bengaluru: Campus offers to fresh engineering graduates are likely to witness a 15-20 per cent drop in the ongoing fiscal year as indicated by the current trend. Executives of staffing firms said that campus placements are currently going on in various engineering colleges and offers are not as plenty as used to be in previous years.

“This year, campus hiring will be little less as opportunities for freshers have come down. Fresher hiring numbers are likely to be lower than last year given the trend as campus hiring is going on since August. August-September-October is the usual campus season. Our sense is that offers will be 15-20 per cent less than last year,” Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO, CIEL HR Services, told Bizz Buzz. “Number of IT firms are going to the campuses. But, offer letters given by the companies are lesser than last year,” he added.

Post pandemic, Indian IT services companies hired a record number of freshers in FY22. On an aggregate basis, top four Indian IT services companies- TCS, Infosys, Wipro & HCL Technologies, added 227,000 fresh engineering graduates during 2021-22 period. Hiring among mid-tier companies also remained robust during that period.

In FY23, initial estimates of hiring were strong, but it dipped in the second half as the technology slow down aggravated. This led to delay in onboarding of freshers with less hiring across the board. Sentiment has further worsened in FY24 as management of most IT firms have shied away from giving exact numbers of freshers that they intend to hire through campus placement this year.

Market leader Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was the only exception among big firms which has said that it would hire around 40,000 freshers in FY24. Management of other companies said that they would calibrate hiring of freshers, depending on the demand environment.

According to a TeamLease EdTech report, hiring of freshers in India will increase by only a marginal three per cent in the second half (H2) of calendar 2023 on increased competition and limited number of jobs for newcomers. The IT industry is predicted to see an overall decrease in the intent to hire freshers compared to H1 2023 (49% in H2 2023 versus 67% in H1 2023, a decrease of 18%), the report said.While ongoing campus hiring trend indicates a dip in hiring, most experts are pinning their hopes during the second half of current financial year. “If sentiment improves in the second half, then we may see hiring picking up towards the end of FY24,” a source said.