Graduates with skills in artificial intelligence, machine learning or IoT are more effectively recruited by companies and offered higher salaries.

This training could be a skill in emerging technologies such as AI, ML or IoT, or an apprenticeship or internship with a company.

This is reflected even in salaries, which have remained stagnant for B.Tech graduates in recent years but have increased by 10% over the past year for those who have acquired that something extra, the recruitment and staffing services firm said. equipmentleasing.

“Those who have proactively trained themselves in emerging technologies or have undertaken apprenticeships are not only getting onboarded by organisations more effectively but are also commanding higher salaries,” Krishna Vij, business director – IT staffing at TeamLease Digital, told ET.

While the average salary for fresh engineering graduates is Rs 3.8-4.5 lakh per annum, it is in the range of Rs 7-10 lakh per annum for B.Tech graduates with emerging new technology skills.

Campuses are also echoing this trend. “In the current scenario, IT, manufacturing and consulting sectors are looking for well-trained and knowledgeable B.Tech and M.Tech technocrats,” said Harish Kumar, head of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the National Institute of Technology, Delhi. These are candidates who have interned for 6-12 months on a full-time basis or have undergone specialised training or completed real-time projects in data science, AI/ML, additive manufacturing, CAD/CAM, business analytics or very large scale integration (VLSI), etc.

These candidates are offered 75-150% more on average compared to technocrats without such exposure, Kumar said.

At Amity University, the demand for students with exposure to skills like AWS, ServiceNowCybersecurity and sales force is quite high this year. “B.Tech (Cybersecurity) students are getting a CTC of over Rs 15 lakh, while the overall average salary for B.Tech is Rs 6 to 6.5 lakh per annum,” said its technical placement director Anjani Bhatnagar.

The same is true for SRM Institute of Science and Technology. Director of its Career Centre N Venkata Sastry told ET that global training centres are recruiting B.Tech students in large numbers this year, especially those specialising in new technologies. “Salaries are also relatively higher for these students and hence these skills are a differentiator for employability,” he said.

Data findings from staffing and recruitment firms such as Xpheno and Quess, shared with ET, also support this trend.

“The surge in apprenticeship hiring is largely driven by the industry’s focus on reducing workforce costs, building a skilled talent pool and fostering staff loyalty and retention,” said Kapil Joshi, joint CEO, Quess IT Staffing. According to an analysis by Quess, there has been a 10-fold increase in hiring through the apprenticeship route by IT companies in the eight months to August 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

Over the past 10 years, the average salary of fresh engineering graduates has risen slightly from Rs 3-3.4 lakh per annum in 2013-14 to Rs 3.8-4.5 lakh per annum in 2023-24, according to a study by Xpheno shared with ET.

“Average salaries for new entrants in the Indian IT sector remain in the range of less than Rs 500,000 per annum. Offers ranging from Rs 380,000 to Rs 450,000 per annum are the most common, while offers of less than Rs 350,000 per annum are not a rarity,” said Prasadh MS, head of workforce research at Xpheno.

ET reached out to IT companies including Cognizant, HCLTech, Information systems and TCS but they did not respond to queries by the time this edition went to press.

WiproIn an emailed response, BITS Pilani said it has a “Work Integrated Learning Programme” (WILP) targeting Bachelor and Postgraduate Business Administration graduates. The IT firm also sponsors higher education in an exclusive partnership with BITS Pilani for these graduates.

“The program, which includes Wipro Academy of Software Excellence for software projects and Wipro Infrastructure Management Services for cloud infrastructure services, recruits through national talent searches, campus campaigns and social media,” a company spokesperson said in the emailed response.

After selection, candidates receive a fixed stipend while studying for four years, after which they become full-time employees based on their academic performance, the spokesperson said.