IT industry executives believe skilled staff can find options abroad despite visa curbs

BENGALURU: Skilled IT employees can still find opportunities to work in other countries, even as some of them clamp down on work visas, as India remains a source of talent for the world, a senior IT industry executive has said. Some Indian IT firms had begun saying that lack of visas was making it harder for them to retain talent.

“I won’t deny that onsite opportunity is an attraction for kids, but I would say that nowadays, they are more interested in technology. There are many countries where onsite is still an opportunity, as long as you have the right opportunity and the right skills, an onsite (opportunity) can come to you,” Ajoyendra Mukherjee, former HR head at Tata Consultancy Services, had told ET just before he retired from the company at the end of April.

Mukherjee said there would always been a need for Indian talent globally, as the shortage in science, mathematics and engineering skills in the West is yet to be filled. However, the number of onsite work opportunities that companies create was linked to their growth, he said.


“At this point in time, (onsite) opportunities depend on the business and growth, and as things become challenging, the number of opportunities for work onsite may come down,” Mukherjee said.

TCS, which is the largest Indian IT services company by revenue, is also growing faster than its smaller rivals.