India’s largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has on-boarded about 11,000 trainees in the quarter ended June 30, 2024. With this, the company has cleared all previous backlogs of fresher onboarding delays.
“A part of that 11,000 has come from the past year, a small part. Now, we do not have any backlog from the last years,” Chief Human Resources Officer Milind Lakkad said in a press conference on July 11.
The IT giant, like its industry rivals, encountered macroeconomic challenges that compelled companies to delay the onboarding of freshers.
Nonetheless, TCS is in the process of completing selection from its National Qualifier Test (NQT).
NQT is an assessment platform designed by TCS iON to measure candidates’ cognitive ability and skill expertise. Apart from Tata Group companies like TCS and Titan, firms such as Happiest Minds use NQT for hiring.
Also read: TCS targets to hire around 40,000 freshers in FY25; will honour all offers made
Although the company is aiming to onboard around 40,000 new employees this year, Lakkad highlighted that the exact number remains fluid and dependent on various factors. "We're trying to stay close to that. It depends on various situations, but that (40,000) is what we are going for," he said.
Lakkad explained that TCS’s key strategy includes campus recruitment, and is backed by quarterly planning to address skill gaps. "Our key strategy has been to basically hire from the campus. During the quarter, or during the year, some quarter planning of that also happens. We figure out what are the skill gaps we have, and based on that we hire," Lakkad said.
When asked which skills are in demand in the age of AI and Gen AI, Lakkad said it is spread across various aspects and depends on the business situation at hand. “Very difficult to call out specific skills also because it is not specific, it is across the board.”
Also read: TCS doubles its AI and Gen AI pipeline again in Q1 to $1.5 billion
Meanwhile, the Mumbai-headquartered firm's Q1 FY25 results met street expectations, with the consolidated net profit rising 9 percent year-on-year to Rs 12,040 crore.
Revenue from operations rose 5.4 percent on-year to Rs 62,613 crore in the June quarter. Moneycontrol had projected a profit of Rs 11,999 crore on a revenue of Rs 62,190 crore, based on an average of 10 brokerage estimates.
In a reversal of trend after three quarters, the company added 5,452 employees on a net basis in Q1. With the latest increase, TCS employs 6,06,998 people, the company said on July 11 as it shared the numbers for the first quarter of the FY25.
TCS declared its earnings after market hours. On July 11, the share price of TCS ended flat at Rs 3,902 at the National Stock Exchange.
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