Led by IT sector, 84% Indian firms want to hire people with green skills

A new survey, however, showed that the net employment outlook in the upcoming quarter is lower than the same quarter in FY23

At least 84 per cent of companies in India Inc are looking to hire people with green skills, findings of a survey released on Tuesday showed. Among all the sectors, demand for these skills is highest in information technology (IT) companies with 89 per cent of companies wanting to hire such people.

According to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey released by workforce solutions company ManpowerGroup, the IT sector is followed by transport, logistics & automotive, and energy & utility sectors with 88 per cent of companies willing to hire people with green skills. Jobs that require green skills (green jobs) allow companies to make more environment-friendly policies and new products based on sustainability.

The survey, conducted on 3,020 companies, also showed that the sentiment to offer green jobs was the lowest in the consumer goods & services sector with 76 per cent of companies willing to hire people with green skills.

At 85 per cent, the sentiment was highest in north India, followed by 84 per cent in west India and 83 per cent in south India.  

Moreover, the survey showed that the net employment outlook in India in the upcoming quarter (July-September) stands at 36 per cent. It was six percentage points higher than the sentiment in the current quarter but 15 percentage points lower than the same quarter in FY23.

In the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, India has the second highest hiring sentiment with Australia leading at 37 per cent. India is followed by China at 35 per cent.

The IT and technology sector employers reported the strongest hiring intentions with a net employment outlook of 47 per cent followed by finance, insurance, and real estate at 41 per cent. The healthcare and life sciences sector showed the third-highest sentiment at 40 per cent.

Sandeep Gulati, managing director, ManpowerGroup India and Middle East, said, "India is one of the significant IT talent hubs for tech companies across the globe. Coupled with that, is the government's continuous reinforcement in the semiconductor industry, both of which are fortifying the IT sector as the dominant player for growth in the Indian job market."

"Furthermore, demand during the festival season is expected to fuel the overall economy which will largely impact the temporary staffing industry as well as the gig economy positively," he added.