IT companies on the prowl once again; fresh recruits set to rise by 30% this year

IT and ITES companies are expected to increase their recruitments at the fresher level by close to 30% during the year. This comes in the light of these industries performing well and looking to expand.

Monsterindia.com, an online recruitment company, estimates that as compared to 2004, hiring at the entry-level will grow by about 28% in 2005. ìWhile engineering graduates can expect opportunities in the traditional manufacturing companies, they will see new opportunities opening up in the areas of R&D and quality control of the IT industry,î said Monster Asia president and managing director Arun Tadanki.

Companies, themselves, remain optimistic on large recruitments during 2005 especially at the fresher level. For Instance, software major Infosys has made offers to hire 6,000 freshers from various colleges in the country for the next financial year. ìWe have made offers to hire 6,000 freshers through campus recruitment. They will be taken in during the second and third quarter between July and December,î said Infosys vice-president human resources Hema Ravichander. The other major, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has already laid down an ambitious figure of employing about 8,000-9,000 people this year. Of this, a significant chunk would comprise fresh graduates.

Most HR Managers told FE that the current recruitment drive will give better opportunities to students from the ìBî towns. Among the other companies that will be hitting the campuses are SAP-3000, CSC-3000, EDS-5000, Peoplesoft-1000, WNS Global-7000 etc. A NASSCOM study points out that there were about 253 universities and 13,150 colleges at the end of March 2002, producing about 24.6 lakh graduates every year. About 2.9 lakh engineering degree and diploma holders enter the workforce annually, with the majority entering the IT industry.

ìThe number of IT and ITES professionals employed in India has grown from 2.84 lakh in 1999-2000 to 8.42 lakh in 2003-2004. It is estimated that, by the end of this year, the total recruitments would be to the tune of 10.45 lakh out of which, most of the new recruits would be fresh graduates from various backgrounds,î said NASSCOM President Kiran Karnik.