In the midst of massive lay-offs and hiring freeze in the global tech sector, Indian tech companies are increasingly relying on upskilling existing employees to bridge their talent gaps, finds the 2023 Hiring Survey conducted by Scaler (by InterviewBit), one of India’s fastest-growing edtech start-ups.
The survey reached out to over 100 start-ups, product multinationals, IT services and Global Capability Centers (GCC) in the country, revealing that nearly two-thirds of the respondents were paying for their employees’ upskilling programs to overcome their skill gap challenge.
In what could be describe as a tell-tale sign of latent demand (and skill gap) for higher-end skills in the Indian tech sector, more than 7 out of 10 survey respondents believe employee referrals to be the most reliable source for fresh hires.
Further, recruiters across the board (39.3%) said finding the right talent for the right job continues to be their biggest challenge, a trend that needs to be fix to ensure the continued growth of the $245 billion Indian tech sector.
Key Findings of Scaler’s Hiring Survey 2023 ● 61.6% are paying for their employee upskilling programs with product MNC, IT Services and Start-ups displaying greater inclination to invest in their talent; ● 72.02% said Data Science/Algorithm is the skill they are looking for the most; ● 91.02% are looking for candidates with a problem-solving mindset; ● 38.3% believe the shortage of skills to be the most formidable challenge in the tech sector; ● 31.06% feel the role of back-end engineers is getting challenging to fill; ● The average hike % most (60.5%) respondents are willing to give is between 20-40% depending on role and previous experience; ● 76.02% of respondents said they are encouraging hybrid work model in their respective organisations. ● 71.9% said employee referrals are the best source of new hires; |
While primary job qualification (e.g., coding skills) and a college degree are given their due weightage, employers are particularly keen on hiring people with a problem-solving mindset.
An overwhelming 9 out of 10 respondents believe that in the larger scheme of things, employees’ ability to solve problems trumps education, though the latter seems to be use as a basic filter to shortlist candidates when hiring.
Abhimanyu Saxena, Co-Founder of Scaler & InterviewBit, said :
He further said that with employees’ referrals reigning as the most preferred source for new talents, the prospects for building an industry community look both promising and bright.
Abhimanyu Saxena, said :
Today there are more than 5,000 Scaler-trained professionals in the tech sector working across diverse organisations, including employers like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Uber, Ola, Swiggy, Zomato, Paypal and others.
Scaler’s 2023 Hiring Survey approached a vast spectrum of respondents with eight big questions to capture the emerging big picture of how tech companies are dealing with skill gap challenges, it also captured other significant trends like expected average salary hikes, working model (work from home, hybrid etc.) in the post-pandemic world, skills in demand and general hiring outlook.
Interestingly, less than 16% of the respondents said there is a complete freeze on hiring, while 38% said only replacement hiring is on, especially in start-ups followed by product multinationals.
While MAANG companies continue to be incredibly prudent and conservative in their tech recruitment, young and early-stage start-ups are hiring aggressively and are offering competitive salaries.
Earlier in the year, Scaler launched Scaler School of Technology, a 4-year residential UG program in Computer Science with its first campus to be in Bengaluru that will offer high-quality computer science UG program capable of delivering world-class career prospects to millions of young and ambitious software engineers and to create a perennial pipeline of highly qualified skilled workforce for the global technology sector.
Survey Methodology
The in-house survey was conducted among 100+ partner companies across sizes and sectors, including IT Services and Staffing, Product companies, Startups and MNCs, to gain insights into the current hiring trends across the tech landscape.
The findings are based on the interactions with CHROs, Talent Acquisition Heads and CXOs from organisations like Walmart, Adobe, Zomato, Infosys, InMobi, Samsung, Razorpay, Xpressbees and others.
About Scaler
Launched in 2019, Scaler is India’s leading tech education company that upskills working professionals and educates aspiring engineering students.
Scaler’s industry-vetted curriculum provides solutions to real-world challenges addressing the changing dynamics of the technology industry through two flagship programmes: Scaler Academy and Scaler DSML.
Scaler believes in creating real-life impact by focusing on ‘impact-driven’ tech talent. Enrolled learners are mentor and taught by leaders and subject-matter experts working with leading organisations, including MAANG companies.
Scaler has generated enviable career outcomes in a short period, and on average, its learners see a 4.5x RoI (return on investment) and salary hike of approximately 126%.
To further redefine tech education, Scaler has launched Scaler Neovarsity – an online university that offers an outcome-focused Master’s Programme accredited with ECTS and Scaler School of Technology – a 4-year residential UG program in Computer Science.
Scaler is also the only edtech player in the country to establish ‘Scalerverse’, a distributed campus to add to its Neovarsity vision for learners, teachers, and mentors, encouraging holistic learning and development.
Scaler Enterprise is the B2B arm that focuses on building relationships with domestic and global organisations to provide them with industry-ready talent.
Over 800 companies have worked with Scaler for their tech recruitment needs.
The startup’s parent firm, InterviewBit, is feature on the Financial Times’s Asia Pacific High Growth Companies 2021, 2022 and 2023 ranking.
Scaler is back by marquee global investors like Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India), Tiger Global, and Lightrock India and has expanded its footprints across India and the US.