Modi’s thumping win likely to perk up hiring sentiment

KOLKATA | BENGALURU: Narendra Modi-led BJP’s overwhelming victory in the general elections is likely to breathe fresh life into the lacklustre job market over the coming quarters, according to more than six headhunters that ET spoke with.

Stability and continuity on major policy decisions bode well for hiring scenario, they said. Job creation will be a top priority for the government, and the private sector too will have a key role to play, they said.

“We see investments going up in infrastructure and with an additional thrust on ‘Make in India’ in the new budget, things can look up rapidly,” said K Sudarshan, CEO at EMA Partners International in India. “The sentiment is positive given the overwhelming mandate and also the expectation that this government will focus heavily on putting the economy on the fast track. Hiring activity is likely to perk up significantly on the back of positive sentiments.”

Leading the charge will be sectors such as infrastructure, transport, defence, FMCG, automobile and IT/technology, headhunters said.

Both business and hiring sentiment are likely to get a fillip as a result of the ruling party’s thumping win, a welcome development for India Inc that has seen dismal corporate earnings in the fourth quarter of 2018-19.

“MNCs which have captives here will be encouraged to recruit more talent in India as they see political stability and greater ease of doing business,” said Shiv Agrawal, managing director at ABC Consultants. “Sectors like infrastructure and automobile will also get a push from the government, (and) the investment will lead to more jobs.”

Agrawal said the effect of election results on the jobs scenario is largely sentiment-driven, adding that 20-30 clients that he has met since the results have a positive outlook on hiring.

Kamal Karanth, cofounder of Xpheno, said more than 100 global in-house centres (GICs) or captive centres are planning to set shop in India. “Their entry might be hastened due to the continuation of the previous administration,” he said. “Each of these GICs come with a minimum expectation of 200-500 jobs initially. There’s also an active job market in FMCG, pharma, IT and the startup world.”

Rituparna Chakraborty, cofounder of TeamLease Services, said skill mobilisation, skill creation, upskilling, regulatory control, reach and connectivity will be major drivers for job creation in the near future. Automobile, consumer goods, BFSI, healthcare, technology/IT and retail would be among the sectors that feel the maximum impact, she said.

Headhunters also expect demand for skills in new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), blockchain, and robotics to increase, and said young people who can skill themselves in these areas will make huge headway.

“The Skill India initiative will get added impetus in this term,” said Sanjay Shetty, head-strategic accounts management at Randstad India. “Organisations — both employment providers and creators — will seek a boost from Skill India.”

The global outlook is also very positive about the election results and this will lead to increased confidence in jobs, Shetty said. “Many companies that were previously hesitant about investing in India will now go ahead and do so,” he said. “Companies in the space of manufacturing, precision engineering, and shared services will all grow here. Additionally, India is quickly emerging as a centre for high-end knowledge services.”

Many headhunters feel stability will be the real gamechanger for the job market. “I don’t foresee any blips on the horizon,” said Navnit Singh, chairman at Korn Ferry India. “In the last five years, the prime minister has done whatever he had to do on the international front. Now he’s going to be spending a lot more time on domestic issues and that should start paying off. The job market should see a proper turnaround in the next 3-4 quarters.”