Infosys, the country’s second biggest
software services exporter, has plans to hire 15,000 to 16,000 engineers next year. An
improvement in demand for outsourcing in the US and other countries is expected to raise
job prospects for engineers, programmers and others.
“Though 2013 marked a year of disappointment on hiring front, 2014 seems promising. The upcoming national elections coupled with the improvement in the global economic conditions are expected to pull the market out of the guessingphase and bring cheer,” said Ashok Reddy, managing director of TeamLease Services, a recruitment consultancy firm.
“In fact, as the year progresses companies are expected to come out and invest again, automatically leading to talent search,” he said, adding that sectors such as consumer goods, durables, telecom, retail and hospitality are expected to drive growth.
The infrastructure sector is also likely to benefit as projects get off the ground. Several stalled projects are expected to kick off, stoking demand for skilled and unskilled workers. Demand for jobs will come from the planned industrial corridors, which will link key cities.
“As the core sector improves, floodgates should open. There has been considerable amount of investment in big ticketprojects,” said K Sudershan, managing partner at EMA Partners International, a global executive search firm.
“There is a fair degree of optimism,” he said, adding that the job scene may gather pace after the national elections in 2014. Sudershan said sectors such as metals, power, real estate could witness demand for jobs as clarity emerges on the policy front and sentiment improves. He further said a “significant amount of retirements” in the next two to three years in the manufacturing sector could drive demand for engineers.
Gautam Nair, managing director at Matrix Clothing, said improvement in the US economy and Europe augured well for employees in the labour-intensive textile sector. “But, ironically in a country like India, we are facing shortage of labour,” Nair said, adding that the gap was wide for both quantity and quality of labour.
