62% of firms in India want to hire freshers in the first half of 2023

The intent to hire freshers in India has of late improved in India, a new report released on Thursday showed. Sixty-two per cent of companies in India want to hire freshers in the first half of 2023, compared to 59 per cent between July and December last year. This is nearly 4.5 times higher than the global average of 14 per cent.

According to the "Career Outlook Report" published by learning solutions provider TeamLease EdTech, Information Technology (IT) is the top industry where the intent to hire freshers is the highest. Sixty-seven per cent of companies in the sector want to hire freshers. It is followed by 52 per cent in the e-commerce and technology sector and 51 per cent in telecommunications.

In the report, the jobseekers with an educational qualification from 10th or 12th standard to Postgraduate Diploma and Doctoral degrees with a working experience of less than one year are considered freshers.

"Even in the face of a global muted sentiments around team hiring, a large number of Indian employers have expressed their intention to hire freshers; some to create a long term supply channel whereas others to replace their expensive resources with fresh trainable talents. Whereas this is good news for fresh graduates coming out from universities, we shall be watchful of the intention translating to actual hiring in the coming months," said Shantanu Rooj, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of TeamLease EdTech.

The report added that 68 per cent of companies was to hire more people in the coming months, irrespective of whether they are freshers or come with experience. 

DevOps, Corporate Finance, Artificial Intelligence and Project Management are domain skills with the highest demand.

"As aspiring graduates and freshers, the key here is to identify the industries that demonstrate an optimistic view and the job skills that would have good demand in the future. Now is the time for job seekers to acquaint themselves with current market trends and invest in the right skills and courses to improve their chances of landing their first jobs," said Neeti Sharma, president and co-founder of TeamLease Edtech.

It further showed that the demand for freshers is highest in Bengaluru, with three in every four (75 per cent) companies wanting to hire freshers. It is followed by 56 per cent in Mumbai and 47 per cent in Delhi.