Japan emerges as the new promised land for Indian engineering graduates

Recruiters at four engineering colleges have signalled a growing demand not only from Japanese companies but also from homegrown firms seeking to station freshers in the land of the rising sun.

However, there's a catch: Students must be proficient in Japanese.  

“Japanese companies are coming to hire Indian students because their population is ageing. They are even relaxing visa norms for Indian students. These large firms are hiring our engineers in smaller ancillary units, but they require that these students learn Japanese," said Samuel Rajkumar V., director of the Career Development Centre at Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT). 

According to Rajkumar, VIT, which sent 27 students to Japan in 2023, aims to increase that number to 100 for the 2025 batch. 

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The East Asian economic powerhouse, which is experiencing a demographic crisis, faces a labour shortage, particularly in technology, said Krishna Vij, vice president of IT staffing at TeamLease, a Bengaluru-based staffing firm. "Indian engineers bring strong skills in software development, artificial intelligence and automation. The cost-effectiveness of hiring from India and the global exposure that Indian professionals offer are significant advantages." 

“Moreover, Indian engineers have demonstrated their ability to adapt and integrate into diverse work environments. This blend of expertise and adaptability makes Indian talent highly attractive for Japanese firms to expand their workforce," she added.

Mint has independently learned from colleges that large Japanese companies, including carmaker Toyota Motor Corp., are hiring engineering students for various roles in their ancillary units. Companies such as JMC Corp., Anest Iwata Corp., Showa Corp. and Sanko Kogyo Co. Ltd have also hired Indian engineering students. 

An email sent to these companies remained unanswered.

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The working-age group (15-64) comprises 58.8% of Japan's population, compared to India's 68.2%, according to the latest estimates by the UN Population Division. The median age of the two countries are 49.4 and 28.4 years, respectively.

Fat paycheques  

A second recruiter attributed Japan's rising interest in hiring from India to the country's abundant skilled talent and cultural compatibility.

“This time, we had about six Japanese companies that hired from our institute. Firstly, India boasts a vast pool of skilled professionals, particularly in technology and engineering, making it an attractive source for talent," said Savitha Rani M., training and placement officer, Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bengaluru. 

These companies paid salary packages upwards of ₹21 lakh per annum.

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“Cultural compatibility also plays a role; many Indian professionals are adept at adapting to Japanese corporate culture and familiar with Western business practices," said Rani, who expects the number of Japanese companies hiring from Ramaiah to more than double for the 2025 batch. 

A third recruiter said attractive pay packages make Japan a go-to job market for Indian students. “These (Japanese) companies are paying a minimum of ₹30 lakh per annum. We are urging our students to learn the language and go there," said the recruiter at a Pune-based engineering college on the condition of anonymity. 

India produces about 1.5 million engineering graduates annually. Most of them are employed by the country's largest software services firms, such as Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Infosys Ltd, at starting salaries of ₹4-6 lakh per annum.

However, Japanese companies alone aren't enticing students to the East.  

“In fact, even homegrown software services firms have asked us for students proficient in Japanese, with one of them agreeing to pick as many as 500," the third recruiter added. 

Traditionally, IT services companies have based most of their workforce in India. Those stationed in client locations abroad are in the US and Europe.

Making students Japan ready

While some colleges train students in Japanese themselves and offer them courses at subsidized rates, others partner with companies and third-party institutes.

“We are offering them courses on Japanese culture and language. We are urging them to take courses outside, too," said VIT’s Samuel. 

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Meanwhile, the recruiter from the Pune-based college said their institute had tie-ups with centres and companies that would teach Japanese to their students. “There are institutes that have tie-ups with us that give Japanese training to students. We also have tie-ups with companies willing to give Japanese training to students and hire those who do well. However, the onus is on the students to learn. The students only need to pay an examination fee of ₹2,500 and have their salaries almost double."  

A fourth recruiter said that hiring for Japanese companies is being carried out through other agencies. 

"Our students join Japanese companies through agencies that help them hire the candidates," said D. Ranganath, dean of placement for R.V. College of Engineering, Bengaluru.

While colleges were looking to offer basic Japanese training, Ramaiah’s Rani said the companies teaching the language themselves. “The Japanese companies will give virtual language training to those students it hires so that when the new hires reach Japan, they don’t face difficulty."

An Indian software engineer based out of Osaka said: “Initially, learning Japanese was tough, especially when it came to reading and learning new words. But then after I put in daily effort, it became better. Now, I can remember words as I read them and also formal business words, which is important to converse with our managers as they are very particular with Japanese proficiency." 

The 2023 batch engineer graduate from VIT Bhopal earns upwards of ₹15 lakh per annum. 

Things are looking up

The demand from Japan comes as placement heads of IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) are chasing recruiters early to avoid a 2023-like delay in placing their students.

Besides, India’s largest information technology (IT) services companies have hinted that they would resume hiring from campuses in the 12 months through March 2025 after a year of slow demand forced them to freeze hiring and reduce headcount.

Four of India's top five IT firms—Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro Ltd, and Tech Mahindra Ltd—ended March 2024 with a cumulative headcount dip of more than 70,000 employees.

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Infosys is expected to hire up to 20,000 freshers in 2024-25, while TCS may hire 40,000 graduates, according to their commentary after their June-quarter earnings.