Amid rapid changes in technology needs, India’s global capability centres (GCCs) are shifting towards flexible hiring models to keep pace with rising demand for specialised skills in AI, data and cloud.
According to a report by Quess Corp, flexible staffing in GCCs reached 25% in the last quarter of 2026, up from 22% in 2025. This reflects a steady rise in subcontracting and short-term hiring. The trend is linked to the growing share of projects in AI, data and machine learning, which has doubled from 30% to 60%.
“Till a few years ago, most of the demand for subcontracting staff was for the 0-4 years’ experience bracket; this has now moved to mid-level roles with 4-10 years of experience,” said Kapil Joshi, CEO of IT Staffing at Quess Corp. “Demand is also broad based and across sectors, not just BFSI, healthcare and retail, which means that this will sustain.”
Contract roles are now tied more closely to delivery outcomes, especially in AI-led transformation programmes. “Contract roles now carry delivery responsibility, not just execution support. The demand pattern drives this. AI hiring is growing at ~60% YoY, but in bursts linked to pilots, releases, and transformation tracks. Permanent hiring cannot expand and contract at that pace without inefficiency,” said Hani Mukhey, Senior Director at Zinnov.
Companies are increasingly hiring mid- to senior-level specialists on contracts of 9 to 18 months for specific projects. This marks a structural shift, as GCCs move from cost-focused operations to high-value work such as AI transformation, cloud modernisation and product innovation.
“GCCs are being called upon to deliver on AI transformation, cloud modernisation and product innovation. That kind of work is inherently project-driven and the skills it demands are evolving faster than any permanent hiring pipeline can respond to,” said Milind Shah, Managing Director at Randstad Digital India. He added that companies often prefer hiring specialised teams for short durations. “If a GCC wants to build a real-time fraud detection engine, they would rather hire 8 highly specialised ML engineers for 9 months rather than add to their permanent workforce.” Even if contract workers command a premium, the unit economics remain favourable.
Cost pressures and skill gaps are also driving this trend. Companies are avoiding fixed costs and hiring talent on demand for areas like AI, data, cybersecurity and product transformation. Skills are also evolving quickly, often becoming outdated within 18-24 months.
Experts say this reflects a deeper change in workforce strategy. “Contract hiring has been gradually increasing from the high teens a few years ago and may continue to rise as transformation programmes become more continuous than episodic,” said Arindam Sen, Partner at EY India. He noted that stable attrition levels are helping firms maintain a core workforce while using flexible talent for demand spikes. “That is a sign of maturity rather than stress.”
Mukhey added, “Companies are thinking less in terms of headcount and more in terms of capability. Instead of hiring one broad role, they’re breaking it down into specific skills and bringing those in as needed.”
The trend is also influenced by workforce dynamics, with nearly 40% of GCC hiring driven by backfilling roles. Shorter job tenures, especially among Gen Z employees, are making long-term planning harder. “In a sense, the increase in flexible hiring points to a coming together of all these factors, higher attrition, demand for specialised skills and a skills shortage,” Joshi said.
Despite the rise, flexible hiring is not a long-term replacement for building internal talent. It is estimated to reach 30-40% in the coming years, while companies continue to invest in reskilling. “Reskilling has become as important as external hiring. GCCs increasingly recognise that flexible hiring can bridge short-term gaps, but long-term capability has to be built internally, particularly for AI and data skills,” Sen said.
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