Good news for job seekers in Financial Year 2019 expected to see on hiring front

Financial Year 2018 went down in history as yet another year riddled with uncertainty, coupled with ups and downs on the hiring front. In fact, hiring came to a standstill for some industries, whilst a few others reported minimal recruitment. However, as we journey into Financial Year 2019, we have to ask ourselves what does this year have in store for India's workforce? How easy will it be for them to move jobs? Will there be massive demand for niche skills? What will be some of the hiring trends that we will witness this year in the IT, auto and financial services sectors?

IT industry

In Financial Year 2018, perhaps no other industry was as badly impacted from a hiring perspective as IT. The industry bore the brunt of American visa restrictions and automation, which led to a dismal year in terms of hiring. This year IT will get back on track and is expected to see expanded hiring compared to Financial Year 2018. Global in-house centres (GICs) and fintech companies will be at the forefront of IT recruitment. 

GICs of large MNCs will hire at least 60,000 new people to their captive back offices in India. Fortune 500 non-tech companies are setting up tech centres in India. Digital is core to these consumer-facing companies. Large banks that already have their tech centres in India will continue to expand their IT talent base. With over 200 fintech companies getting funded in the first half of CY17, the action on hiring has just begun. Fintech along with healthtech should add about 25,000 IT jobs this year.

As far as hot jobs are concerned, full stack developers (building new products for e-commerce and fintech-funded start-ups), AI engineers, UX and UI engineers, analytics professionals and cyber security engineers will be in demand.

Auto industry

Electric mobility plans have created quite a flutter, especially for public sector transport. This means that the commercial vehicle segment has to be prepared for this. This will call for additional R&D investments. Auto companies have to hire fresh talent to develop vehicles with green/electric technologies. Further, India continues to be the hub of two-wheeler manufacturing and export. The new-age vehicles have to appeal to the millennials. Therefore, the connectivity aspect of vehicles will take centre-stage. Auto industry will see addition of at least 20,000 new jobs this year. People with niche and specialised skills will be in demand, including for power train engineers, battery management electrical engineers and computer-aided specialists.

Financial services

Financial Year 2019 will be a promising year for banking and financial services; NBFCs, and small and large banks will focus on more lending. Their intent to penetrate into rural markets will generate more jobs in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The 50-odd NBFCs and small banks who will expand big time and larger banks that will expand loan books will add in excess of 1.5 lakh jobs.

Last-mile connectors

This year will see last-mile connectors being added by FMCG, FMCD, e-commerce and logistics companies. A lot of these roles will be entry level and contractual. An estimated 2 lakh jobs will be added in these categories across sectors.

The good news is Financial Year 2019 will be a promising year. We will witness a revival in hiring. Companies are set to remodel their hiring techniques and technology will play a greater role in hiring process. Up skilling is going to play an integral role, too.