Numero uno: How GCCs raced to pole position in hiring stakes

Captive service arms of large multinational firms, or global capability centres (GCCs), emerged as top hirers of technology talent in the first quarter this fiscal, beating IT services companies for the first time, marking a churn in the recruitment profile of India’s $250-billion software services sector, according to industry data.

Already, GCCs are wooing talent away from IT services firms, especially at senior level roles. Careernet cofounder and CEO Anshuman Das said salaries within GCCs have risen substantially over the past 3-5 years, with the average pay now 30–40% higher than those paid by IT services firms.

“For product-based GCCs, salaries are approximately 80–100% higher, and in large tech companies, they can be 2-3 times higher than in traditional IT services. This reflects the high demand for skilled tech professionals and the competitive nature of the market,” he added.

Careernet’s numbers show the total estimated talent employed in GCCs has grown from 1.3 million in FY20 to 1.9 million in FY24, with the number of GCCS increasing from 1,300 to 1,700 during the same period. To be sure, the diversified GCC cohort also employs around 215,000 non-tech professionals and approximately 640,000 in tech roles.

According to Das, “The trend towards tech hiring has accelerated in the past five years, driven by the demand for roles in data engineering, cloud computing, AI, and cybersecurity.”

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