A recent survey conducted by ed-tech startup Scaler found that 90% of companies would be hiring at the same pace as the pre-COVID period, and over 50% says they would be hiring more in Q1 2021 as compared to last year in the same period. The demand for talent across MNCs and large companies are expected to increase due to new client acquisitions in the last few months. According to the survey, companies are investing in remote talent to attract a diverse talent pool and promote workplace diversity. Further, the survey found that work-from-home has increased opportunities for women.
Commenting on the survey findings, Abhimanyu Saxena, Co-founder, Scaler and InterviewBit, said, “The last year was tough for most sectors and industries. But over the last few months, things have changed. The current sentiment is quite positive as businesses across diverse sectors pick up momentum. We expect hiring, especially in the technology sector, to return to pre-covid numbers by the end of this quarter. Companies will hire, but they will focus on hiring the right talent. People will need to invest time and effort to ensure they have the requisite skills and knowledge. Up-skilling and re-skilling will continue to be key growth drivers.”
Below are a few key findings from the survey:
- VC- funded startups, especially in Edtech, Logistics and Gig-Economy, will be key drivers of the job market in 2021.
- Top roles in demand are Software developers, Data Scientists, Web, and Mobile Application Developers and UI/UX, Designers.
- Companies are willing to pay a premium for talents with knowledge and experience in new-age digital skills like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Science among others.
- Campus placements and fresher’s hiring will be back on track. As organisations across sectors invest heavily in digital transformation to scale operations, there is a huge demand for tech talent. Hence, there will be an uptick in entry-level jobs. Companies are likely to do away with college degrees and will invest in talent with the right skills required for the job.
- After a successful WFH and remote working experiment, companies are now confident in hiring remote talent to access a larger talent pool. However, while MNCs & large companies have adopted a hybrid workplace model or in the process of transition, early-stage startups continue to prefer the in-premise workplace model, citing collaboration challenges.
- Work-from-home has increased the opportunities for women, especially for those looking to re-enter the workforce. Diversity, Inclusion and Equity top priority for companies.
- Companies will invest in upskilling the workforce regularly as attracting and retaining skilled talents in the latest technologies has become a challenge.
Survey methodology:
The in-house survey was conducted among 150+ partner companies across size and sectors (MNCs, Large companies, high-growth startups and early-stage startups) to understand the hiring plans for Tech roles in 2021. The findings are based on the interactions with CHROs, Talent Acquisition Heads and CXOs & Founders (in startups).
