TCS to Hire 80% of Freshers With Digital and AI Skills as AI Business Grows

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is increasing its focus on digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI) skills as the IT services company looks to expand its AI business. According to a senior company official, around 80% of new hires are expected to have skills in digital technologies and other emerging areas, including AI.

The hiring strategy reflects how AI is changing the skills required in the IT industry. Companies are increasingly looking for employees who can work with modern technologies while also understanding business requirements and solving practical problems.

TCS Plans to Focus on AI and Digital Skills

TCS added approximately 4,500 employees during the July-September quarter. Of these new hires, around 25% to 30% had specialised AI skills, while nearly 80% possessed broader skills in emerging technologies.

Chief Operating Officer Arathi Subramanian shared these details in an interview with Press Trust of India. She indicated that the company expects this hiring approach to continue, adding that suitable talent is available in the market.

The move comes as technology companies adjust their recruitment and training strategies to meet growing demand for AI-related services. Instead of focusing only on traditional software development skills, employers are increasingly interested in candidates who can adapt to new technologies.

Can Freshers Compete With Experienced Employees?

The growing demand for AI skills has raised questions about whether fresh graduates have an advantage over experienced professionals. Younger employees may be familiar with newer AI tools, while experienced engineers often bring deeper technical knowledge and an understanding of industry-specific challenges.

TCS CEO and Managing Director K. Krithivasan said that the ability to learn and adapt matters more than a person’s experience level alone.

He explained that an experienced engineer who learns AI technologies can have a significant advantage because they already understand the technology landscape and the business domain. Fresh graduates may have knowledge of newer tools, but they might need time to develop the same level of practical and industry experience.

This suggests that AI skills alone may not determine an employee’s value. Combining technical knowledge with problem-solving abilities and business understanding could become increasingly important.

AI Business Accounts for 10% of TCS Revenue

TCS is also looking to turn its growing AI business into a stronger source of revenue and profitability.

The company’s AI business accounted for around 10% of its overall revenue in the September quarter. Krithivasan indicated that as AI projects grow in volume, they could begin to provide additional benefits to the company’s profit margins.

Many businesses initially introduce AI through limited projects targeting a particular department or business function. Once these projects demonstrate measurable results, customers may decide to expand AI adoption across other parts of their organisations.

For IT service providers such as TCS, this creates opportunities to develop larger, long-term engagements rather than delivering isolated AI projects.

TCS reported $9.6 billion in total contract value for the September quarter but did not disclose the exact portion attributable to AI. Krithivasan noted that AI was involved in some form in almost all the work the company currently undertakes.

Why Using ChatGPT Does Not Automatically Make Employees AI-Ready

Learning to use AI tools such as ChatGPT is becoming common among professionals. However, familiarity with these tools does not necessarily mean employees can use them effectively in a business environment.

Nikhar Arora, Director and Builder of Bots.ai by HR Anexi, highlighted the difference between AI tool usage and actual organisational capability in comments to NDTV.

He argued that employees may already be using AI tools regularly, but organisations can still lack clear standards, established workflows and reliable methods for evaluating AI-generated output.

For example, an employee might use an AI assistant to write code, prepare reports or analyse information. However, the real business value depends on whether the output is accurate, secure, relevant and useful for the task.

Without appropriate processes and quality checks, higher AI usage does not necessarily translate into better productivity or business results.

Arora emphasised that companies need to identify the skills employees should develop, establish standards for good work and determine how AI should contribute to specific business objectives.

What AI Skills Should Freshers and IT Professionals Develop?

TCS’s hiring approach highlights several areas that aspiring IT professionals and experienced employees should consider developing.

• AI tool proficiency: Learn to use AI assistants for coding, research, documentation and other relevant tasks.
• Programming fundamentals: Build a strong understanding of programming, debugging, databases and software development practices.
• Problem-solving: Learn to identify practical problems and determine where AI can provide a useful solution.
• Business understanding: Understand the industry, customer requirements and business processes behind a technical project.
• Output validation: Develop the ability to check AI-generated code, content and analysis for errors, security risks and inaccuracies.
• Continuous learning: Keep up with changing AI technologies and learn how to apply them in real projects.

These skills can help fresh graduates become more job-ready while enabling experienced professionals to combine their existing knowledge with new AI capabilities.

What This Means for the Indian IT Industry

TCS’s hiring plans reflect a broader shift in the IT services industry, where companies are adapting to growing customer interest in AI solutions.

The change does not necessarily mean that traditional software development skills are becoming irrelevant. Instead, professionals may need to combine those foundations with AI knowledge and the ability to deliver measurable business outcomes.

For freshers, this creates an opportunity to build AI skills early in their careers. For experienced employees, learning new technologies while using their existing domain knowledge could help them remain competitive.

Companies will also need to invest in structured training, practical projects and quality standards to ensure employees can use AI effectively rather than simply access AI tools.

What Comes Next?

As TCS expands its AI business, its recruitment strategy will be worth watching for signs of how large IT service providers are changing their workforce requirements.

The increasing emphasis on AI and digital skills could influence hiring expectations across the Indian technology sector. However, the ability to use AI effectively will likely depend on more than familiarity with a particular tool.

For job seekers and working professionals, the key lesson is to combine AI knowledge with programming fundamentals, business understanding and practical problem-solving skills.

Conclusion: TCS’s plan to focus on digital and AI skills in its hiring highlights the changing expectations of the IT industry. Learning ChatGPT or another AI assistant can be a useful starting point, but building reliable solutions, understanding business needs and applying technology effectively may prove more valuable in the long run.