Why Australian and New Zealand Businesses Are Looking to India for Talent
Australia and New Zealand have been facing persistent talent shortages across a range of critical functions for several years. Technology, finance, engineering, healthcare, and operations have all seen vacancy rates well above historical norms. The domestic talent pool cannot meet demand at the scale required — which has accelerated what was already a growing trend of ANZ businesses recruiting internationally, particularly from India.
Why India specifically?
India produces more STEM graduates annually than any country in the world except China. It has a deep bench of English-speaking professionals with strong technical foundations and international exposure. The working culture — while different from Australia and New Zealand in important ways — is familiar enough with Western business practices to reduce the adaptation period. And increasingly, Indian professionals have worked with multinational companies in India or completed postgraduate education abroad.
The sectors driving demand
Information technology remains the largest flow, but the India-to-ANZ corridor is no longer just a technology story. Accounting and finance professionals — particularly those with Big Four or large corporate backgrounds — are in strong demand in Australia. HR and people professionals with experience managing large workforces are sought after. Engineering and construction, driven by Australia's major infrastructure pipeline, is actively recruiting internationally.
What businesses need to get right
International hiring works best when it is done with structure and support. Businesses that manage the visa process proactively, provide genuine onboarding support, and invest in helping their new hires understand the local market get dramatically better outcomes than those who treat international hiring as a transaction. Retention of internationally recruited talent depends heavily on the quality of the first twelve months.
For Indian professionals, the opportunity is real and the pipeline is growing. For ANZ businesses, India represents one of the most viable solutions to a talent problem that domestic markets alone cannot solve.
