IT sector to create 2.5 lakh new jobs in 2016

IT sector hiring is expected to see a significant uptrend this year as more and more companies focus on digitisation and the sector is likely to create 2.5 lakh new job openings this year, according to a report by staffing services firm Teamlease Services.

Growing entrepreneur activity coupled with a shift in business focus from a service provider to a solution provider is expected to push hiring in the to new heights, Teamlease Services said.

Last year, hiring in the IT space saw a rise of 12 per cent, and this year, the sector is expected to witness growth of 14-16 per cent in recruitment.

"With companies focusing on technology and digitisation, the hiring focus has shifted from scale to skill. More and more companies are realizing that while they require traditional skills, it is the acquisition of niche skills that will be the game changer," Teamlease Services assistant general manager Alka Dhingra said.

Though companies will continue to hire traditional skills, the profiles that will be sought after include digital marketing, which requires the candidate to devise strategies that will drive online traffic to the company website and its conversations. The digital marketing profile is expected to see more than 70,000 job openings.

Other in-demand profiles in the IT sector include user experience and user interface designers; full-stack web developers, product developers; mobile product development engineers; business analysts; information security analysts; cloud architects/integration; data scientists, and content management system (CMS), the report said.

The job outlook for this sector is bullish going forward as new job opportunities in this space are expected to increase to 22 per cent by 2020, the report noted.