IT-BPM industry to raise headcount to 4.85 mn in FY22: Report

The Indian IT-BPM industry is expected to reach a headcount of 4.85 million in FY22, by adding 3.75 lakh new jobs, according to a report by TeamLease Digital. 

While full-time employment commands the volume, contract staffing is expected to gain significantly from the positivity in the market to reach a headcount of 1.48 lakh employees by March 2022.  

“The acceptance of contract staffing is not restricted to corporates, even candidates are opening up to the concept of contract staffing. Unlike before, nearly 10-15% of contractual IT-BPM joiners in FY22 are from full-time employment,” the report said. 

Read more: India Inc's hiring intent highest in Q3 at 41%: TeamLease 

Amongst digital skills, 13 skillsets are going to be largely in demand and are expected to record a 7.5% growth in this fiscal over FY21. The trend is similar in the contract staffing space too. TeamLease Digital predicts that the demand for contract staffing for digital skills will grow by 50%, a 19% increase when compared to last year. 

According to the research report, the demand-supply gap is widening for data engineering, data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence skills. The companies are expected to practice different upskilling and cross training initiatives to reduce the supply gap.  

The majority of the companies are opting for upskilling with or without certification (70-75%), create talent pipeline from graduate population (10-15%), embrace contractual hiring (5-10%), and cross train from another industry/domain (5%). 

“The Indian IT-BPM sector is at the cusp of an unprecedented growth. Apart from being the largest private sector employer, the IT-BPM industry is transforming India into a hub for digital skills,” said Sunil C, head of Specialised Staffing, TeamLease Digital. 

The study further revealed that attrition rate this year is the highest in the history of the IT-BPM industry. In FY22, full-time employment attrition is set to reach 24% from 13% last fiscal. Contract staffing attrition is expected to grow to 49% in FY22 from 40% last fiscal.