NEW DELHI : Technology companies are likely to hire engineering graduates at the previous year’s levels of ₹ 2-4 lakh per annum, industry experts said, adding they expect no increase in freshers’ pay this year as hiring winds down after a year of aggressive recruitment. Consultancies, IT services and non-core IT firms and captive units are among the chief recruiters of engineering graduates, and are not expected to upgrade salary structures for entry-level hires. “IT firms, including large services companies, will see at least 40% drop in fresher hiring target for this year. In such cases, there will be no need for a salary hike. We expect large IT services firms to offer salaries of ₹ 3. 18-4 lakh for entry-level campus hires," said Anshuman Das, chief executive and co-founder of Careernet, a talent solutions provider. Top IT services companies Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Tech, Infosys and Tech Mahindra, had projected combined hiring figures of around 180,000 freshers for FY23. In the December quarter earnings announcements, the companies said they have either fulfilled, or are on track to meet their hiring targets. Every year, about 1. 5 million engineers graduate and a large chunk heads for IT companies. However, after a year of a hiring frenzy, IT firms are coming up with stringent screening tests for freshers, and the ones who do not make the cut will be asked to leave. According to a Mint analysis, IT service providers may let go of around 2,500 campus recruits. In fact, India’s technology and startup sector may layoff another 15,000-20,000 employees due to the funding winter, as companies try to ease the impact of “over hiring" on the balance sheets, said experts. “There are six cohorts that recruit engineers: tech startups, IT services, captive units, consulting firms, IT product and non-tech firms. While the services sector may see reduced numbers, the five industries will take them in," Kamal Karanth, co-founder of staffing firm Xpheno, said. Though Karanth does not expect much change in salary levels, he estimates that global in-house centres (GICs) or captives, will hire more engineers this year as their main recruitment happens in the first two years of setting up the centres. “However, they do not hire in mass like the IT services firms and, therefore, there will be a large pool of engineering graduates without offers this year," Karanth added. However, certain specialities, like quantitative research analysts from the Indian Institutes of Technology, will be in for far higher compensation compared to the engineering graduates. The rest may have to hunt for jobs in tier 2 and 3 towns. “Engineers are looking for jobs that are temporary and some have to opt for apprenticeships, shift to smaller towns and join unknown firms or move to other sectors," Aditya Narayan Mishra, chief executive, Ciel HR Services, said. MINT PREMIUM See All Premium Bad news awaiting tech grads entering the job market Premium The week in numbers: inflation, exports, appraisals, an . . . Premium Why trade settlement in rupee is off to a tentative start Premium Why big biz wants licence to lend Freshers from other streams may, however have better opportunities. According to TeamLease EdTech, hiring intent for freshers for January-June is at 62%, up 3% from July-December, when 59% of firms expressed their intent to recruit freshers. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Devina Sengupta Devina Sengupta reports on the shifts in India Inc’s workplaces, HR policies and writes about the developments at India’s biggest conglomerates. Her stories over the last decade have been picked up and followed by Indian and international news outlets. She joined Mint in 2022 and previously worked with The Economic Times and DNA-Money. Read more from this author Catch all the Corporate news and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News . More Less.