Deloitte: Campus workforce Trends 2024 hires skill-based, experienced, AI-savvy talent
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP’s (Deloitte India) latest campus workforce trends 2024 study unveils critical insights into the attrition rates, hiring strategies, and evolving preferences in the entry-level job market.
The comprehensive Deloitte latest campus workforce trends 2024 survey, encompassing data from over 190 organizations and 500 campuses, shows that campus compensation has grown steadily at a 5.2% CAGR across various degrees over the past five years, despite a reduction in placement budgets.
India’s campus hiring landscape is experiencing shifts in hiring methodologies and changing expectations from the workforce. The landscape is transforming to reflect the evolving job market and addresses the need for a skilled, adaptable workforce.
The following are the notable insights:
- For the first time in 5 years, 2024 projected salaries for management students (viz. MBA) are experiencing a drop of 5 percent to 10 percent across tiers. Notably, the expectation of salary by campus students is also experiencing a similar decline.
- Variable pay increased by 250 basis points over the past year, indicating a shift towards higher performance orientation by employers.
- Organizations’ Internship intake was reduced by 10 percent on average, indicating declining uptake. Similarly, pre-placement offers (PPOs) have experienced an annual drop of 26 percent. Complementing it, campus hiring budgets saw a 33 percent drop in the past year.
- Skills are taking centre stage. Organizations are pivoting to specific skills/competency clusters within the educational stream while selecting their talent. For example, AI/ML in engineering, social selling in management and computational biology in pharma are the most in-demand skill segments. Complementing this trend, expectations from campus students are pivoting to management consulting roles for MBA specialization and data scientist for technology talent.
Retention reboot needed
Attrition remains a significant challenge, especially among MBA graduates. Overall, 1-year and 2-year attrition rates for top-tier campuses are 21 percent, 26 percent, and 28 percent, in pan-India. These rates are slightly lower for tier 2 and tier 3 campuses at 19 percent, 21 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
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This trend underscores the need for innovative retention strategies. To combat this challenge, leading organisations are implementing flexible work arrangements, performance-based incentives and targeted career development programmes.
Dr. Neelesh Gupta, Director, Deloitte India, “This year’s study reveals a critical need for organisations to rethink their retention strategies, especially for MBA graduates, where attrition rates are alarmingly high. Innovative practices are no longer optional but essential for retaining top talent in a competitive market.”
“It further reveals that currently, four of every five executives favour decisions on hiring, pay, promotions, etc., based on skills over job history or network, citing reduced bias and improved fairness. Thus, there is a need for educational institutions to equip students with the multifaceted skills to succeed in the digital age”, Neelesh Gupta added.
Despite higher attrition rates, 70% of organizations actively seek MBA graduates, reflecting their importance in business success and a 5.2% CAGR in compensation over five years. Notably, year-on-year compensation has experienced a decline for the first time in five years across tiers of MBA talent and in the top 10 tiers for M.Tech and B.Tech.
This is reflected in a 26 percent decline in pre-placement offers (PPOs) across degrees and a 33 percent reduction in campus placement budgets. This shift suggests a focus on a more thorough skills assessment and a strategic reallocation of resources for streamlined hiring practices.
Industry-academia partnerships and Gen AI integration
The report also highlights the increasing importance of Industry-academia partnerships, essential for creating a competitive workforce and fostering a knowledge-based economy. These partnerships facilitate the co-creation of curricula and provide students practical exposure and experiential learning opportunities.
Dr. Neelesh Gupta, Director, Deloitte India added, “Gen AI is revolutionising talent management practices by transforming recruitment into a more inclusive, unbiased and skill-oriented process while enhancing productivity and shaping the future of work. Our study reveals that while 60 percent of organisations are exploring the potential of AI/Gen AI, 40 percent have already begun using these technologies to stay ahead in the competitive landscape.”
Advancements in workplace diversity and inclusion
The report underscores significant progress in workplace gender equality and diversity hiring. Female campus hiring increased in FY24 compared with that in FY23. However, the availability of gender-diverse talent remains a challenge, especially in the engineering stream.
Rise in various initiatives also supports the hiring of differently abled individuals and those with diverse gender identities. Targets for hiring differently abled employees increased from 5 percent in FY23 to 9 percent in FY24, while LGBTQIA+ hiring targets surged from 8 percent to 20 percent.
Location preferences diverge
The survey reveals distinct location preferences for different disciplines. For engineering graduates, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai emerge as the top destinations, likely due to their thriving tech ecosystems, prestigious universities and robust job markets.
In contrast, for students pursuing management degrees, the top three preferred locations are Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai. Bangalore’s reputation as an IT and start-up hub likely makes it attractive for management students seeking opportunities in diverse industries.
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