Capgemini, a prominent software services provider, has unveiled plans for significant hiring in India during the fiscal year 2025 (FY25), citing expectations of a robust uptick in domestic business. Nisheeth Srivastava, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, India Industry Platform at Capgemini, disclosed in a conversation with Mint that this workforce expansion aligns with industry trends, marking a positive shift post a challenging FY24 for the IT sector.
As of February 2024, Capgemini boasted a workforce of 175,000 employees in India.
This hiring initiative comes at a time when India’s IT sector, projected to conclude FY24 with a cumulative revenue of $253.9 billion according to Nasscom, aims to bounce back from a cautious period of global tech spending amid macroeconomic uncertainties.
In the initial three quarters of FY24, industry giants such as Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Infosys Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, and Wipro Ltd witnessed a collective decline of 49,936 employees, as per data compiled from quarterly and annual financial reports by Mint. Despite cautionary statements from domestic IT majors about clients’ reserved sentiment and minimal discretionary spending, Capgemini’s move signals optimism.
Srivastava drew attention to a significant disparity between the hiring needs of the domestic IT industry and the technical education curriculum in India, highlighting that less than 1% of educational institutions meet industry standards. This distinction places India apart from global counterparts like China, Israel, and the former Soviet Bloc, which play pivotal roles in global software services and innovation.
In contrast to concerns about generative artificial intelligence (AI) diminishing job opportunities, Srivastava argued that it would, in fact, expand the workforce by enabling people of all ages to learn coding. He stressed the imperative need for increased hiring across the board, anticipating the knowledge economy’s widespread proliferation.
Emphasizing the importance of upskilling in data, machine learning, analytics, AI, and emerging areas like prompt engineering, Srivastava urged Indian students to leverage online courses. He highlighted generative AI’s role in personalizing learning content according to individual needs and preferences.
As the demand for specific skills such as user experience and interface (UI/UX), data science, and cybersecurity is poised to surge alongside the anticipated increase in hiring, industry experts, including Kamal Karanth, co-founder of recruitment firm Xpheno, underscore the evolving skillset requirements in the sector.
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