What’s driving the massive shift in fresher talent hiring across India's tech landscape? Look no further than Global Capability Centers (GCCs)—the fastest-growing employers of early-career talent.
As India cements its position as a global digital powerhouse, GCCs are making strategic investments in one of their most vital assets: freshers. According to the NASSCOM 2023 Talent Trends Report, India’s GCCs already employ over 1.4 million professionals, with fresher hiring expected to grow by 50% by 2030.
However, the momentum doesn’t stop there. The NASSCOM India GCC Landscape Report (FY2024) further highlights that India hosts over 1,700 GCCs, operating across 2,975 centers, generating US $64.6 billion in revenue and employing 1.9 million people—making India the world’s largest hub for capability centers.
Nevertheless, this demand is mirrored on the supply side as well. The Deloitte India Campus Workforce Preferences Survey 2023 found that over 60% of Indian graduates prefer joining GCCs because of attractive salaries, exposure to cutting-edge technologies, and global career opportunities.
In this blog, we explore how GCCs are transforming their fresher talent hiring strategies to build a future-ready talent pipeline—one that blends agility, inclusivity, and long-term innovation.
Why GCCs Are Prioritizing Fresher talent in 2025 and Beyond
Digital disruption is reshaping every industry, and GCCs are feeling the pressure to innovate faster and scale smarter. Freshers bring a unique value to this equation. They offer:
- Cost-efficiency: Compared to mid-level hires, freshers are more affordable, allowing companies to scale headcount without dramatically increasing budgets.
- Tech-native mindset: Today’s graduates are digital-first, familiar with emerging technologies and modern development practices.
- Moldable talent: Without legacy mindsets, freshers are adaptable, eager to learn, and open to diverse ways of working.
GCCs not only see early-career or fresher talent hiring just as a solution for today, but also as a foundation for building future leaders and innovators within the organization.
Expanding Beyond Tier-1 Colleges to Tap Untapped Potential
For years, campus hiring was concentrated in India’s top engineering colleges like IITs, NITs, and IIITs. However, this talent pool is highly competitive and often saturated.
However, GCCs are now expanding their focus to Tier 2 and Tier 3 institutions across India, including cities like Coimbatore, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, and Jaipur. This strategic move brings several advantages:
- Access to untapped talent: These colleges are full of capable graduates who are often overlooked.
- Lower attrition rates:Fresher talent from smaller cities may show higher loyalty and stay longer in roles.
- Cost advantage: Hiring from non-metro areas often comes with reduced compensation and operational costs.
Therefore, by broadening their reach, GCCs can secure a more diverse, resilient, and committed workforce of top fresher talent
Internship-to-Hire: The New Fresher Talent Pipeline
Internships have evolved from short-term experiences into powerful recruitment tools. In fact, GCCs are designing structured internship-to-hire models that allow them to:
- Assess real-world performance: Interns are assigned to live projects, thus enabling recruiters to evaluate their technical and soft skills in action.
- Customize training: Interns receive hands-on learning tailored to the company's tech stack and business processes.
- Increase conversion rates: High-performing interns are offered full-time roles, reducing hiring risk and ramp-up time.
Indeed, a popular model is the "4+1 week": four days of project work plus one day of training each week. This blended approach ensures interns develop job-ready skills while being evaluated continuously.
Strong Employer Branding Wins the Best Fresher Talent
Today’s freshers want more than just a paycheck. Indeed, they seek purpose, growth, and flexibility. Therefore, to attract top fresher talent, GCCs are investing in employer branding strategies, including:
- Campus events and hackathons: Hosting challenges and workshops builds early engagement with students.
- Social media campaigns: Platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter help GCCs showcase their culture and innovation.
- Alumni ambassadors: Using recent hires as brand advocates builds credibility among peers.
So, by authentically showcasing career growth, learning opportunities, and inclusive work culture, GCCs can become employers of choice for the top fresher talent of the next generation.
Leveraging AI and Technology to Hire Smarter
As fresher hiring volumes rise, GCCs are turning to technology to streamline the process. AI and automation are helping:
- Screen resumes based on skills, not just qualifications
- Conduct chatbot-led preliminary interviews
- Assess coding, communication, and problem-solving skills through gamified platforms
- Use predictive analytics to identify high-potential candidates
These tools allow HR teams to focus more on quality engagement and less on manual filtering, thus leading to better hiring outcomes.
Competitive Pay, Fast Growth, and Continuous Learning
To compete with IT services firms and startups, GCCs are offering attractive compensation packages and rapid career advancement. Salaries for freshers now range from ₹5 to 8 LPA, with niche roles in AI, data science, and cybersecurity fetching even more.
But pay is just the start. GCCs are creating learning ecosystems with:
- Internal academies and certification programs
- Mentorship by senior leaders
- Personalized career pathing and mobility across functions or geographies
Thus, this investment in learning not only attracts ambitious fresher talent but ensures they stay engaged and grow with the company.
Culture Matters: Retaining Freshers Through Inclusion and Flexibility
Hiring freshers is only half the battle.Employee retention strategies depend on several factors. In fact GCCs that are succeeding with fresher talent engagement prioritize:
- Hybrid and remote-friendly models
- Inclusive policies around gender, disability, and neurodiversity
- Transparent performance feedback and recognition
Gen Z employees care deeply about mental health, work-life balance, and social impact. Therefore, GCCs that align with these values are seeing higher retention and satisfaction scores.
How Utkrisht Helps GCCs Build a Scalable Fresher Talent Pipeline
At Utkrisht, we enable GCCs to discover and engage with the right early-career and fresher talent by offering:
- Access to a curated pool of pre-assessed candidates who are evaluated on job-readiness and real-world skills
- Support with structured assessments and employer branding to make freshers interview-ready
Whether you're scaling a new GCC team or strengthening your existing fresher recruitment strategy, Utkrisht helps you do it faster, better, and more efficiently
Investing in Freshers Is Investing in the Future
GCCs that prioritize early-career hiring are not just filling junior roles—they’re building the foundation for long-term innovation and growth. Therefore, by expanding outreach, embracing technology, and creating a culture of learning, these companies are ensuring that India’s top fresher talent is equipped to lead the global digital economy.
Ready to build your fresher talent pipeline? Partner with Utkrisht and gain access to India’s best and brightest early-career talent.
