Opportunities galore for freshers in the second half of 2025, says a ‘Career Outlook Report (HY2 2025)’ by TeamLease EdTech. Demand for freshers appears to be highest in among e-commerce technology startups, followed by the retail sector (87 per cent) and manufacturing (82 per cent). A whopping 88 per cent of employers intend to recruit in the second half of 2025.
Clearly, e-commerce and technology startups are growing, and therefore, throwing up opportunities for freshers. So job seekers need to not only possess technical and human skills but also be adaptable.
The survey covered responses from 1,065 employers from various sectors for the period May to July.
The report reveals that there are more degree apprenticeship programmes available today indicating that the demand for practical, skill-based learning pathways is also high.
While the hiring intent for freshers was 74 per cent in the January to June period, the report reveals that the overall fresher hiring intent has dropped slightly to 70 per cent for the July-December 2025 period.
The drop has been attributed to workforces across sectors being restructured to integrate artificial intelligence (AI). The prevailing economic uncertainties are only adding to the problems.
The demand for degree apprentices has been rising steadily. The maximum demand is seen in the manufacturing sector (37 per cent), followed by engineering and infrastructure (29 per cent), and information technology (18 per cent).
Apprentices are being hired in bigger numbers in Bengaluru, Chennai, and Pune where the hiring intent for apprentices stands at 37 per cent, 30 per cent, and 26 per cent, respectively.
Smaller organisations appear more keen to hire apprentices than the bigger ones.
As per the report, hiring is expected to be muted in the second half and lateral hiring will only happen based on requirements or need.
According to ET, IT firms are on track as far as their hiring goals are concerned. In FY26, TCS TCS expects to hire about 40,000 freshers, while Wipro is looking to hire 12,000.
Demand is reportedly expected to be high in the fields of AI/ML, digital consulting, cybersecurity, cloud engineering and so on.
