Key Takeaways
- IT hiring stabilizes after muted quarters with 25% rise in campus recruitment
- Demand for engineering and AI roles surges 27% with 5% compensation growth
- Companies shift to ‘train-then-hire’ model to address skill gaps
- Mid-senior level hiring sees 42% uptake in digital transformation roles
India’s IT sector has achieved hiring stability in the first half of FY 2025-26, marking a significant recovery after several slow quarters. According to HR solutions provider Adecco India, this turnaround is driven by increased recruitment of freshers and mid-senior professionals.
Campus Hiring Revival
Campus intake improved by 25% compared to H1 FY25, with major IT players resuming engagements across key engineering institutes. Adecco India Director Sanket Chengappa noted that most campus hires are being deployed across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and the National Capital Region.
Placements across tier II cities like Coimbatore, Udaipur, Nagpur, Visakhapatnam, and Indore also saw a 7% increase.
Changing Hiring Strategies
“Companies are prioritising steady, manageable hiring to ensure freshers are deployed productively rather than remaining on the bench,” Chengappa stated. Organizations are moving away from the traditional ‘hire-and-train’ model to a ‘train-then-hire’ approach by engaging with campuses earlier.
This shift aligns academic readiness with project requirements to minimize ramp-up time and addresses the industry’s 45-50% demand-supply mismatch across AI roles, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and data engineering.
Skill-Focused Recruitment
Demand for engineering, technical, and AI profiles has risen by 27%, with compensation levels improving by 5% compared to H1 FY25. “IT hiring sentiment remains in a phase of recalibration, which is cautious yet goal-oriented,” Chengappa said.
Organizations are prioritizing skill depth over scale, focusing on cloud, data, and AI-led capabilities while aligning workforce strength to active project pipelines.
Lateral Hiring Trends
Lateral hiring continues to be shaped by deal pipelines and delivery mandates, with significant focus on delivery leadership, domain specialists (cloud/data/AI), and cross-functional roles rather than generalists.
“At Adecco, we are seeing a 42% uptake in mid-to-senior level hiring, particularly across digital transformation and delivery leadership roles,” Chengappa noted. The company expects overall IT hiring momentum in the third quarter to stabilize at 45% as deal conversions translate into active mandates.
Overall, India’s IT sector appears to be entering a phase of measured recovery as deal momentum gradually improves, with companies investing in sharper, skill-aligned hiring strategies that balance agility with depth.
