Infosys has asked about 1,500 students from the April 2022 batch having offer letters to appear for two rounds of pre-training. Of the total, India’s second-largest software services company has given September 2 as the joining date to only about 115 students, while the rest remain in a state of flux about their job prospects.

Hiring worries at Infosys underscore a broader squeeze in recruitment in the technology sector due to factors such as economic uncertainties and increasing automation. Indian IT firms are under pressure from students, public outcry and worker unions over the onboarding delays.

In July, Infosys had called all the selected students for a mandatory virtual pre-training programme for 24 days. Following this, another self-learning module-based pre-training was organised for some students in August which resulted in joining dates allotted to the 115 students. For the remaining students, there is limited clarity on the assessment and confusion of login credentials to some students for the second pre-training round. There have been no rejection letters yet, multiple people including the students told ET.

Earlier this month, students received an email from Infosys’ recruitment team for a second six-week virtual pre-training starting August 19, which included a self-learning module, followed by an in-person assessment across cities. Further, those who clear the competency tests would be invited to join an in-person immersive training programme.

“Failure in the competency assessment will lead to deferment of your joining dates,” the email said. “Further, those not responsive to the email or not making it to the pre-training would be considered to have opted out of the decision to continue the engagement with Infosys,” it added.

ET has reviewed copies of the emails sent to students.

Some of the students ET spoke to said the pre-training was mandatory and therefore, many left their existing jobs in the hope of finally working at “one of the best IT companies” in India.A spokesperson for Infosys did not comment on ET’s queries but reiterated a recent statement by its CEO Salil Parekh stating that, “We changed some dates but beyond that everyone will join Infosys and there is no change in that approach.”

“The July training was given by Mysuru-based educators while the August training is all self-learning, and the assessment is still pending. Some are given online tests but not everyone has all the details of the next steps. Earlier, IT companies also used to give salaries during the training period. The July and August training period was not paid. I don’t know what will happen to my future. My other batchmates with jobs have reached Rs 10-12 lakh packages but I am still jobless,” said one of the students.

Another student, part of the 115 students who cleared the July pre-training assessment, said he has been asked for required documents and report at the Mysuru campus on September 2 and is hopeful that Infosys won’t defer his September joining date.

This month, IT employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) approached the Labour and Employment Ministry, filing a complaint against Infosys over the delayed onboarding of freshers who were selected for system engineers (SE) and digital SE roles at Rs 3.2-3.7 lakh annual packages.

Since April 2022, around 2,000 such graduates of that year’s batch are waiting to hear from Infosys. Some have moved on to get other jobs, while some wait as the subdued technology services industry continues to weigh on job opportunities in India and globally.

“More than 10,000 selected students, mostly off-campus, are kept lingering by IT majors including DXC Technology (4,800), Wipro (4,000), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (3,100 students), Virtusa consulting (3,000), Infosys (2,800), LTIMindtree (1,800) and Zensar (800). These are the number of complaints received to us,” said Harpreet Singh Saluja, president at NITES.

Previously, NITES has also filed complaints against Wipro and DXC Technology.

“A complaint was filed against DXC Technology, where more than 6,000 employees are awaiting joining dates. Case against Wipro was filed last year against onboarding of April 2021 batch and after a govt notice to the companies, they (Wipro) provided joining dates to around 2,500 (of the around 9,000 offer letters) giving them location as Chennai for a one-month training at students’ costs. Based on the assessment, Wipro failed more than 90% of the students and they had to find their own way out,” Saluja added.

Infosys has asked about 1,500 students from the April 2022 batch having offer letters to appear for two rounds of pre-training. Of the total, India’s second-largest software services company has given September 2 as the joining date to only about 115 students, while the rest remain in a state of flux about their job prospects.

Hiring worries at Infosys underscore a broader squeeze in recruitment in the technology sector due to factors such as economic uncertainties and increasing automation. Indian IT firms are under pressure from students, public outcry and worker unions over the onboarding delays.

In July, Infosys had called all the selected students for a mandatory virtual pre-training programme for 24 days. Following this, another self-learning module-based pre-training was organised for some students in August which resulted in joining dates allotted to the 115 students. For the remaining students, there is limited clarity on the assessment and confusion of login credentials to some students for the second pre-training round. There have been no rejection letters yet, multiple people including the students told ET.

Earlier this month, students received an email from Infosys’ recruitment team for a second six-week virtual pre-training starting August 19, which included a self-learning module, followed by an in-person assessment across cities. Further, those who clear the competency tests would be invited to join an in-person immersive training programme.

“Failure in the competency assessment will lead to deferment of your joining dates,” the email said. “Further, those not responsive to the email or not making it to the pre-training would be considered to have opted out of the decision to continue the engagement with Infosys,” it added.

ET has reviewed copies of the emails sent to students.

Some of the students ET spoke to said the pre-training was mandatory and therefore, many left their existing jobs in the hope of finally working at “one of the best IT companies” in India.A spokesperson for Infosys did not comment on ET’s queries but reiterated a recent statement by its CEO Salil Parekh stating that, “We changed some dates but beyond that everyone will join Infosys and there is no change in that approach.”

“The July training was given by Mysuru-based educators while the August training is all self-learning, and the assessment is still pending. Some are given online tests but not everyone has all the details of the next steps. Earlier, IT companies also used to give salaries during the training period. The July and August training period was not paid. I don’t know what will happen to my future. My other batchmates with jobs have reached Rs 10-12 lakh packages but I am still jobless,” said one of the students.

Another student, part of the 115 students who cleared the July pre-training assessment, said he has been asked for required documents and report at the Mysuru campus on September 2 and is hopeful that Infosys won’t defer his September joining date.

This month, IT employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) approached the Labour and Employment Ministry, filing a complaint against Infosys over the delayed onboarding of freshers who were selected for system engineers (SE) and digital SE roles at Rs 3.2-3.7 lakh annual packages.

Since April 2022, around 2,000 such graduates of that year’s batch are waiting to hear from Infosys. Some have moved on to get other jobs, while some wait as the subdued technology services industry continues to weigh on job opportunities in India and globally.

“More than 10,000 selected students, mostly off-campus, are kept lingering by IT majors including DXC Technology (4,800), Wipro (4,000), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (3,100 students), Virtusa consulting (3,000), Infosys (2,800), LTIMindtree (1,800) and Zensar (800). These are the number of complaints received to us,” said Harpreet Singh Saluja, president at NITES.

Previously, NITES has also filed complaints against Wipro and DXC Technology.

“A complaint was filed against DXC Technology, where more than 6,000 employees are awaiting joining dates. Case against Wipro was filed last year against onboarding of April 2021 batch and after a govt notice to the companies, they (Wipro) provided joining dates to around 2,500 (of the around 9,000 offer letters) giving them location as Chennai for a one-month training at students’ costs. Based on the assessment, Wipro failed more than 90% of the students and they had to find their own way out,” Saluja added.