Will Wipro go for campus hiring this year? Here's what the company said

The IT giant is planning to hire 10,000-12,000 freshers in this fiscal year in the areas of GenAI, cybersecurity, and cloud. However, the focus remains on off-campus hiring, the firm said

(This story has been updated)

Wipro is planning to hire 10,000-12,000 freshers in this fiscal year with a focus on hiring in the areas of GenAI, cybersecurity, and cloud, the IT giant said in a statement.

“We will continue to explore off-campus hiring strategies and liaise with academic institutions that we have consistently partnered with over many years,” the company said.

Earlier, a report claimed that Wipro is preparing to ramp up its campus hiring efforts this year after giving it a miss last year. The Bengaluru-based IT services giant is considering increasing its initial fresher hiring target for FY25 from 10,000 to approximately 22,000, reported Mint.

The report stated that recruitment will be primarily for the role of project engineer, with potential adjustments still under consideration. Wipro’s recruitment efforts will focus on the lowest tier of its three-band hiring structure, with starting salaries of Rs 3.5 lakh per year for freshers from non-IIT and non-NIT engineering colleges, the report noted.

Exclusion of top engineering institutes

The company will be visiting the top 100 engineering institutes across India — excluding prestigious institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) — to recruit talent for its 2025 batch. Notable institutions include Bengaluru’s Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Chennai’s SRM Institute of Science and Technology, and Vellore Institute of Technology.

The company’s decision to hire primarily from non-premier institutions is attributed to a belief that graduates from non-IIT and non-NIT colleges are easier to retain and become project-ready more quickly. As profitability pressures weigh on Wipro, the focus remains on cost-effective hiring at the lower end of the salary pyramid.

Dichotomy of hiring: Wipro rescinds offer to freshers

In a separate development, The Times of India reported on Wednesday (August 28) that after extending job offers to freshers nearly 30 months ago, Wipro has withdrawn some of these offers, citing the candidates’ failure to meet the eligibility criteria due to incomplete mandatory pre-skilling training. In an email to the affected individuals, Wipro reminded them that successful completion of the pre-skilling training was a prerequisite for onboarding.

One of the impacted candidates, Ayush Srivastava, shared his frustration on LinkedIn, stating that he had endured a long waiting period and a demanding 10-day training program, only to have his employment offer abruptly rescinded.

Meanwhile, Wipro explained that its routine onboarding process includes a comprehensive evaluation to ensure that incoming associates possess the necessary skills to contribute effectively to client projects immediately.

Different categories of hiring at Wipro

The company’s tiered recruitment structure categorises freshers into three bands: ‘star,’ offering salaries starting at Rs 10.5 lakh per annum; ‘turbo,’ with over Rs 6.5 lakh; and ‘elite,’ offering Rs 3.5 lakh per annum. Wipro is currently only hiring from its ‘elite’ category. While it remains unclear if the ‘turbo’ and ‘star’ bands will see any recruitment later, the selected ‘elite’ candidates will undergo five selection rounds, followed by an 8–12-week training program with an external training partner before onboarding, Mint said.

Hiring trend getting better in Indian IT sector

Wipro’s decision to resume campus hiring reflects a broader trend among India’s IT services sector, which is expected to hire more extensively for the 2025 graduating batch than in the past two years. Infosys Ltd and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) plan to hire 20,000 and 40,000 freshers respectively, according to the companies’ first-quarter earnings reports in July.

Meanwhile, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, listed on the Nasdaq, faced scrutiny after reports suggested it was offering Rs 2.5 lakh per annum to freshers. The company clarified that the figure applied only to candidates with a three-year undergraduate degree, not engineering graduates.

Wipro financials

Wipro, led by new CEO Srini Pallia since April 6, reported a 2.2 per cent decline in revenue for the fiscal year ending March 2024, totaling $10.8 billion. Nonetheless, the company will restart campus hiring within a fortnight, Mint said.