The newly hired Americans will serve for its US clients
Indian IT outsourcing company, Infosys is on the cusps of making a paradigm shift in the way outsourcing companies hire people. Apparently, it intends to hire more than 10,000 Americans in the span of two years to circumvent the immigration caveats enforced by the new administration under Donald Trump.
According to the announcement made by the Bangalore-based Indian IT major, the newly hired Americans will serve for its US clients. This would create more jobs in the US as the company falls in line with the proposed agenda of the Trump administration.
Through this announcement, Infosys becomes one of the pioneering firms to make a shift in its hiring practice, giving more opportunities to American workers, and thus posing itself as a major job creator.
The latest move by Infosys is the direct result of the Trump administration tightening the screw on H-1B visa program, which, according to him, is used by American firms to hire foreign labor at minimal cost, thus depriving the natives.
Last month, Trump had signed an executive order titled “Buy American Hire American” aiming to end the visa abuse by reviewing the existing norms that allow skilled foreign immigrants to work in the US.
He also recommended exploring options other than the lottery system for the selection process, weighing heavily on the merit-based system that is currently being used in countries like Canada.
Looking at the latest trends in technology jobs, it can be said without doubt that there are other factors that have influenced Infosys in taking the decision. The IT professionals in India have started showing an aversion towards repetitive and menial programming jobs. Also, there is a demand for more wages; but on the other hand, IT majors are experiencing a trouble in finding skilled programmers. According to a latest study conducted by Quartz, only five percent of the total 36,000 engineering pass outs from over 500 colleges know how to write a program code without errors.
According to a news statement, Infosys will open four new Technology and Innovation Hubs across the US. These will focus on cutting-edge technology areas, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, user experience, emerging digital technologies, cloud, and big data as part of the initiative to hire more US workforce.
The company is also boastful about the effectiveness enabled through these hubs in addressing client needs in key industries such as financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, energy and more.
The first hub, which will open in Indiana in August 2017, is expected to create 2,000 jobs by 2021 for American workers and will help boost Indiana’s economy.
“Infosys is committed to hiring 10,000 American technology workers over the next two years to help invent and deliver the digital futures for our clients in the United States,” said Dr. Vishal Sikka, Chief Executive Officer, Infosys.
“Learning and education, along with cultivating top local and global talent, have always been the core of what Infosys brings to clients; it is what makes us a leader in times of great change. In helping our clients improve their businesses and pursue new kinds of opportunities, we are really excited to bring innovation and education in a fundamental and massive way to American workers. New advances in technology – artificial intelligence, in particular – are radically transforming our world, and it is within our reach to learn these new technologies and to be the innovators and entrepreneurs who bring solutions based on these technologies to our clients in all industries,” he added.
“It’s so good to welcome Infosys to Indiana, and to expand our growing tech ecosystem with the addition of their estimated 2,000 Hoosier jobs,” said Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb.
Proud that 2,000 of those jobs will be in the Hoosier State! Great @USATODAY article about @Infosys's announcement. https://t.co/ynzHnTdEvH
— Governor Eric Holcomb (@GovHolcomb) May 2, 2017
Watch a full video of today's announcement with @Infosys: https://t.co/qA1zqxLszV
— Governor Eric Holcomb (@GovHolcomb) May 2, 2017
“Indiana continues to put the tools in place, such as the Next Level Trust Fund and incentivizing direct flights, that allows us to attract and retain great companies like Infosys. In addition, our higher education institutions are producing a world class workforce, establishing Indiana as the innovation hub of the Midwest. I look forward to working with Infosys to elevate Indiana to the next level,” Holcomb added.
According to Infosys, the 10,000 vacancies open for American workers will be used for hiring highly skilled and experienced technology professionals and recent pass outs from major universities, and local and community colleges so that they can build a performance oriented skilled workforce for the future.
Infosys said that they will use the service of subject matter experts and trainers to equip the newly hired Americans to provide key competencies in areas such as user experience, cloud, artificial intelligence, big data and digital offerings, as well as core technology and computer science skills.
“Having lived in the U.S. for nearly 30 years, and being a part of the incredible innovation here, I truly believe Infosys can help clients bring innovation more directly into their businesses, as they create and drive their digital transformations. We can achieve this by enhancing our ability to attract and recruit local top talent across the United States, by harnessing the global scale of Infosys, through software and platforms, and by educating and training people in the necessary skills,” said Sikka.