The growth of the telecom sector workforce in FY25 is anticipated to slow down to approximately 30%, reaching 6.79 million, slightly below the 31% growth in FY24, and significantly less than the 51% growth observed in FY23. This reflects the reduced capital expenditure by major operators, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, which have completed their nationwide 5G rollouts.
However, ongoing network expansion plans by state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) and the upcoming rollout by Vodafone Idea, the third-largest private operator, are expected to create 30,000 new jobs by the end of 2024, according to company executives.
In addition, Bharti Airtel and Jio’s 5G expansion into rural areas is projected to generate another 50,000 jobs over the next two to three years, according to staffing and skilling firm Quess Corp. Despite this, the telecom sector faces a significant skills gap, with a demand-supply shortfall of 2.5 million telecom professionals, expected to increase to 3.8 times by 2030, as reported by TeamLease.
India will require a skilled workforce of 22 million by 2025 to operate hardware and software-defined networks and support 5G-centric technologies such as IoT, AI, and robotics, estimated Sumit Kumar, Chief Business Officer at TeamLease Degree Apprenticeships. Overall, the telecom sector is expected to employ 6.79 million workers in the current fiscal year, reflecting a growth rate of 29.5%, according to TeamLease.
“Current hiring has been focused on leading private telecom players, but BSNL and Vodafone Idea’s network expansion will create an additional 30,000 jobs across all segments of hiring in 2024,” stated Lohit Bhatia, President of Workforce Management at Quess Corp.
Although Airtel and Jio plan to significantly reduce capex after completing their pan-India 5G rollouts, ongoing network support and other services will continue to create new opportunities for telecom professionals, Bhatia noted. However, there may be some displacement in core infrastructure, tower, and equipment installation jobs.
“The rapid implementation of 5G networks by Reliance Jio and Airtel in rural India will drive both mobile network expansion and broadband wired lines, potentially creating another 50,000 jobs in the next two to three years in areas such as customer acquisition, customer service, backend network optimization, and tech support,” added Bhatia.
The telecom industry remains one of the top five employment-generating sectors in India, with both direct and indirect jobs across retail, technology, cloud, data centers, and infrastructure. TeamLease reported that the industry’s workforce growth rate, which was 51.05% in FY21-22, slowed to 31.41% in FY23-24, indicating a transitional phase.
“Despite this slowdown, telecom companies continue to actively recruit for roles such as field sales executives, customer relationship executives, retail executives, installation engineers, fiber repair executives, and cell site repair staff,” said Kumar from TeamLease. Additionally, attrition in telecom companies decreased to 43.4% from 58.4% in FY23.
Companies are consistently hiring to support field operations and network infrastructure, maintaining a youthful workforce with 56.8% of employees aged 18-29 years, Kumar noted. Interestingly, apprenticeships in telecom services have grown by 37% over the last two years, with 22,198 added in FY24, helping to address the skill gap, according to TeamLease. Apprentice roles such as telecom tower technician, in-store promoter, network engineer, and assembly line operator have also grown at an annual rate of 37% over the past two years.
