It Professionals

AI accelerating disruption leads to IT talent shortage, shows survey

With AI accelerating disruption at an unprecedented pace, IT departments are facing a talent shortage, as one in three IT leaders surveyed flagged difficulty in finding qualified talent. It also stated that the current scenario presents a missed opportunity for strengthening business outcomes and talent retention. Ed-tech company Skillsoft in its '2023 IT Skills and Salary Survey' revealed challenges such as skills gaps, talent shortages, and technology transformation are impacting IT departments, with one in three IT leaders facing difficulty in finding qualified talent. "With AI accelerating disruption at an unprecedented pace, the need for workforce training has never been more obvious and consequential. Organisations are at a critical point where they need to be deliberate and proactive about building skills and capabilities -- especially related to AI -- or risk falling behind in the coming year," Skillsoft Chief Information Officer Orla Daly said. Skillsoft's '2023 IT Skills

Ramaswamy wants to end H-1B visa programme, calls it 'indentured servitude'

Calling the H-1B visa programme "indentured servitude", Indian-American Republican presidential aspirant Vivek Ramaswamy has vowed to gut the lottery-based system and replace it with meritocratic admission if he wins the race to the White House in 2024. The H-1B visa, the much-sought-after among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. Ramaswamy himself has used the visa programme 29 times. From 2018 through 2023, US Citizenship and Immigration Services approved 29 applications for Ramaswamy's former company, Roivant Sciences, to hire employees under H-1B visas. Yet, the H-1B system is bad for everyone involved, Ramaswamy was quoted as saying by Politico. The lottery system needs to be replaced by actual meritocratic admission. It

'How bad is the job market?': Applicants spooked, experts optimistic

A start-up receiving 3,000 job applications in 48 hours reflects how substantial the churn is

Demand for IT gig workers grew 157% in H12023, says job firm Awign

Aim is to prune fixed costs, lean more on variables; demand is mostly for highly-skilled tech professionals at mid-level and senior positions, with 2-7 years' experience

Live-streaming of court proceedings important for people: CJI Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice D Y Chandrachud Friday underscored the importance of live-streaming of court proceedings in reaching out to the citizens and said it was incumbent on the high courts to ensure that the funds released by the "extremely receptive" Centre in this regard are productively used. Advocating for making live-streaming of court proceedings a "permanent part" of the judicial system, CJI Chandrachud said the first tranche of nearly Rs 2,000 crore allocation is expected to be released by the Centre in June. "I think it is important that we reach out to citizens by ensuring live-streaming of our proceedings and I have no manner of doubt that this is now a mission which is not confined to the personal preferences of your present CJI who is fond of technology but something which we will incorporate as a permanent part of our judicial system," CJI Chandrachud said. "The Union government has been extremely receptive in providing us funds. The challenge now is befo

How is Germany trying to ease immigration process for Indian techies?

Among other things, Germany may also soon allow employers to hire foreigners for short periods regardless of the special qualification requirements

Fewer layoffs in 2023 1st half; senior professionals most impacted: Survey

Recruiters are foreseeing fewer layoffs in the first half of 2023, but information technology roles and those of senior professionals will be the most impacted within it, a survey said on Thursday. The survey of 1,400 recruiters and consultants by the job portal Naukri.com said only 4 per cent of respondents predicted layoffs and downsizing not to be the dominant hiring activity in their organisations. However, the survey of recruiters across ten sectors said that information technology roles will be witnessing the maximum impact of hiring corrections, while there will also be some impact in roles in the business development, marketing, human resources and operations fronts as well. "Recruiters foresee maximum layoffs for senior professionals, with 20 per cent of recruiters predicting the same. Freshers are expected to be least impacted by hiring corrections," the bi-annual survey by Naukri.com said. The survey said that around half of the recruiters expect high attrition rates of

Amid layoffs, Indian IT professionals look for options to stay in the US

According to The Washington Post, nearly 200,000 IT workers have been laid off since November last year, including some record numbers in companies like Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon

Thousands of Indian IT professionals jobless, scrambling for options in US

Thousands of Indian IT professionals in the US, who have lost their jobs due to the series of recent layoffs at companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon, are now struggling to find new employment within the stipulated period under their work visas following the termination of their employment to stay in the country. According to The Washington Post, nearly 200,000 IT workers have been laid off since November last year, including some record numbers in companies like Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon. As per some industry insiders, between 30 to 40 per cent of them are Indian IT professionals, a significant number of whom are on H-1B and L1 visas. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. L-1A and L-1B visas are available for temporary .

CNH Industrial to hire over 1,000 IT professionals in India by 2025

Italian-American industrial vehicles maker CNH Industrial plans to hire over 1,000 IT professionals in India by 2025 as the company aims to expand its operation, according to its Vice President Precision Software and Cloud Aplications Mukesh Agarwal. The recruitment process is underway. Both software and product development professionals are being employed for its technology centre at Gurgram set up in 2021 as well as for soon to be set up offices in Pune and Bengaluru, he added. Currently, the company has three manufacturing units in India, one for construction equipment vehicles brands like CASE, while the remaining two units for farm vehicles brand 'New Holland' tractors and harvesters. It operates across 180 countries. "We are doing multiple things in precision technology space. As we grow, we need more people. Any software engineering plan without India is unviable. India has enormous talent and it is very exciting for us," Agarwal told PTI on the sidelines of a 'Tech Day' even

Online education company for IT services Pluralsight lays off 400 employees

Online education company for IT professionals, Pluralsight, which was recently valued at more than $1 billion has announced to lay off 20 per cent of its global workforce, about 400 employees

53% IT professionals may resign to pursue new job within next year: Report

More than half of IT professionals (53 per cent) are likely to pursue a new position within the next year due to better compensation, a lack of training and development and a lack of work-life balance, according to a report. About 66 per cent of IT decision makers see skills gap in their teams even as there is a 10 per cent decrease from last year, according to Skillsoft's 2022 IT Skills and Salary Report. However, the industry is facing another pressing challenge centred around talent attrition, with more than half (53 per cent) of all respondents extremely or somewhat likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, it added. Skillsoft's 2022 IT Skills and Salary Report based on a survey with nearly 8,000 respondents. The report further revealed that over the past year, the workplace has been defined by employee-led "movements", namely the Great Resignation and "quiet quitting". Meanwhile, the pace of digital transformation and lack of enough technical resources have pushed m

Many IT professionals may not return to the sector in future: Report

Retaining a business-critical talent has undergone a great change in the last two years, especially in the IT sector, with a significant percentage of the professionals considering not returning to the sector in the future, according to a report. According to leading tech staffing firm TeamLease Digital, employees' needs and priorities have changed, and they are re-evaluating their careers based on aspects like flexibility, career growth and employee value proposition. The report 'Brain Drain: Tackling the Great Talent Exodus' noted that the IT sector witnessed double-digit attrition rate of 25.2 per cent this year. The report shares the insights through more than 100 interviews across TeamLease Digital's leaders, IT contract staffing subject matter experts, and other stakeholders associated with the sector, combined with extensive research available throughout the sector. "The Indian IT sector has witnessed tremendous growth in the last decade. It has recorded 15.5 per cent growth

Apple introduces online professional training courses for IT support

Two new Apple Professional Training courses -- Apple Device Support, and Apple Deployment and Management -- are available now on training.apple.com

Companies woo IT talent with luxury cars, gadgets as Covid fetches business

The huge capital inflows have enabled large, as well as startup IT firms to launch all-out attempts to acquire a talent pool

Trump's H-1B ban expires: What this means for Indian IT professionals

The US issues up to 85,000 H-1B visas each year. Most of the nearly 600,000 H-1B visa holders are from India and China

Biden lets H-1B visa bans expire; Indian IT professionals to benefit

Biden let the ban on foreign workers visa, in particular H-1B, lapse as the notification issued by his predecessor Trump expired, a move which is likely to benefit thousands of Indian IT professionals

Bengal govt's 'Karmo Bhumi' helps 3,000 IT execs get job offers amid Covid

Some 36,964 IT professionals had registered with Karmo Bhumi, of which 27,034 applications had been processed

Hope Indian professionals are continued to be welcomed in US: Indian envoy

In June, President Donald Trump banned the entry into the US of workers in several key non-immigrant visa categories, including the H-1B until the end of the year

Covid-19 impact: 10,000 IT professionals may have lost jobs in Q1

Top 10 IT firms of India reduced total headcount by around one percentage point in the last quarter, says industry resource.