IT firms seek graduate flow throughout the yr

Indian software powerhouses have called for a change in the education system such that it would put out graduates at different points in the year, unlike now when almost everybody graduates in the May-July period.

With their hiring levels reaching gigantic proportions, IT firms are beginning to face the problem of having to do most of that hiring in the first half of the fiscal and concentrate their training resources during that period. Firms in US, for instance, are seen to be able to better handle hiring needs as students graduate at two different junctures.

TV Mohandas Pai, HR head of Infosys, says, "We see lumpy hiring patterns in the first six months because students graduate in hordes at this point. In Q3, it is typically senior people who are sought after. Then comes the crisis point as the market becomes dry in fourth quarter."

Says Pratik Kumar, executive VP (HR), Wipro, "Having two sets of graduates pass out every year, can help us phase out hiring. I hope colleges can think along these lines."

Already there are enough indications that the big three of Indian IT — TCS, Wipro and Infosys — will hire more than their targeted numbers for this year. Says Sudin Apte, senior analyst, Forrester Research, "They need to build the delivery team to ensure they are on track. Our research shows that the top three firms need to go to 200 engineering colleges to do their fresher recruitment. The process spans out quite long."

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