Entry-level jobs in telecom industry thrive despite broader workforce slowdown: TeamLease

Demand for entry-level customer-facing roles in sales, support and service as well as technology functions remained robust in the Indian telecom industry despite a broader slowdown in headcount expansion, showed data from TeamLease Services, a recruitment services and staffing firm.

While the industry’s associate workforce grew by 51.05% in FY22, the pace of expansion moderated to 31.41% in FY24. However, telecom companies continued to actively hire field sales executives, customer relationship executives, retail executives, installation engineers, fiber repair executives, and cell site repair staff during this period, TeamLease said in a statement.

“Our data reveals a dichotomy in the telecom sector’s workforce trends,” said Kartik Narayan, CEO-staffing at TeamLease Services. “While the overall employee growth rate tapered, we witnessed a demand for young talent in customer-facing and technology roles that support the industry’s field operations and network infrastructure.”

The findings highlight a young workforce in the telecom industry with 56.8% in the age group of 18-29 years. “This youthful employee base aligns with the industry’s frontline service delivery and tech deployment requirements,” TeamLease said.

The sector’s attrition rate declined from a peak of 58.4% in FY23 to 43.4% in FY24. “This can be partially attributed to the slowed growth in the workforce size,” TeamLease said. Sustained average salaries between Rs 24,600 – Rs 25,475 likely supported employee retention efforts, it added.

“While the slowdown in overall growth is notable, we are encouraged by improving attrition rates and sustained entry-level hiring traction,” said Subburathinam P, chief strategy officer at TeamLease Services. “Our insights underscore telecom’s strong appeal among young job seekers and the industry’s efforts to attract this digital-savvy talent through competitive compensation.”