Infosys to create 1,000 tech jobs in UK

Indian IT supplier Infosys will create 1,000 technology jobs in the UK over the next three years, with recent graduates and experienced professionals targeted to take roles across the country.

The announcement follows a similar commitment from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) at a time when the UK is negotiating a new trading relationship with India.

Roles will see the new staff work with cloud computing technology, data and analytics, artificial intelligence, open source technology and enterprise services.

The jobs will be spread across the country, including in Infosys’ design studio in Shoreditch, its innovation centre in Canary Wharf and in client locations across the UK, such as Nottingham. Infosys said it will provide training and mentoring opportunities.

The IT services giant said in a statement: “To ensure a diverse talent pool and support the upskilling of the industry’s future leaders, a large proportion of the workforce will be hired from recently graduated students from leading colleges and universities in the UK.

“The company will also hire experienced professionals from technology and consulting with deep sector expertise who will be able to support local businesses in their digital journeys and lead a robust workforce for the future.”

Salil Parekh, CEO at Infosys, said the Covid-19 pandemic had increased the need for digital skills, adding: “Bridging the digital divide and making quality digital education accessible to every citizen are vital to the establishment of a robust future workforce, and the UK’s economic recovery.”

Prime minister Boris Johnson said the announcement by Infosys was a vote of confidence in the UK and its tech sector.

In February, India’s biggest IT services company, TCS, said it would hire 1,500 IT professionals in the UK this year as part of its investment plans. This followed a meeting in India between TCS CEO Rajesh Gopinathan and UK trade secretary Liz Truss.

Thousands of new jobs being generated by Indian IT services firms is a positive sign for tech professionals, who have faced great uncertainty during the pandemic. Almost one-third of companies in the UK and Ireland furloughed IT staff in 2020 during the coronavirus outbreak, according to research by Computer Weekly.

The latest annual Computer Weekly/TechTarget IT salary survey asked IT workers about their salaries and employers over the past year. It found that 32% of IT workers said their firms had furloughed IT staff because of the pandemic.

Almost 30% of IT workers said their companies had implemented a pay freeze in 2020 and 19% said their firms were making IT staff redundant.