Infosys to create 1,200 jobs in Australia, open three innovation hubs

Employees walk along a corridor in the Infosys campus in the southern Indian city of Bangalore September 23, 2014. Infosys Ltd's new CEO Vishal Sikka has come up with a novel approach to reviving the financial fortunes of India's trailblazing outsourcing firm: use Facebook at work, tweet, but get the job done. Infosys has long been run as a conservative company known for keeping strict tabs on work hours and sometimes fining employees for not wearing ties on specific days. Such cheerless self-regard could not have come at a more challenging time, analysts say. To retain talent, Sikka hopes to create a more employee-friendly workplace. To match story INFOSYS-CEO/STRATEGY REUTERS/Abhishek Chinnappa (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY EMPLOYMENT)

Infosys on Wednesday unveiled an initiative to accelerate digital leadership for its clients in Australia and shrink the digital skills gap in the region with the creation of 1,200 jobs and the opening of three ‘Innovation Hubs’ by 2020.

The initiatives will form an education ecosystem through which the IT services firm would enable continuous learning opportunities. They include the creation of 1,200 IT jobs in Australia by 2020, of which around 40% will be Australian university graduates from a range of fields including computer science and design. Besides the development of three ‘Innovation Hubs,’ Infosys would also strengthen its academic partnerships to attract top graduate talent and accelerate digital skill building in Australia.

Welcoming Infosys’ decision, Karen Andrews, Australia’s Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, said, “It’s a great vote of confidence in our economy and the Coalition Government’s commitment to jobs of the future, that a company of Infosys’ global standing would make this kind of investment here.”

Artificial Intelligence

The new ‘Innovation Hubs’ will serve as a platform to enable Infosys to co-create and co-innovate alongside clients, academia and government. Infosys said this approach provides the company with a strong foundation to meet the rising demand for expertise in areas like machine learning, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, big data and cloud. “Today marks an important milestone for our company in our 20-year journey in Australia,” said Pravin Rao, chief operating officer, Infosys.

However, experts such as Kris Lakshmikanth, founder CEO and managing director at executive search firm The Head Hunters India said that hiring 1,200 people is a long-term goal as the Australian market is not ready yet to provide the talent Infosys wants and it would be a challenge for the company if it is hiring locally. “It is possible if Infosys is sending people from India,” said Mr. Lakshmikanth. “In Australia, Infosys can not only tap regions such as Indonesia and Singapore but it would also be simple for the company to send its talent to markets such as the U.S due to easier visa norms [in the country].”