Annil Chandel, country director, India, for IT recruiter Huxley Associates, told Recruiter that the firm’s research and development into the Indian market revealed a shift in staffing needs following on from the outsourcing boom in back office and call centre operations there.

Currently, Chandel said, Huxley has seen the need for senior level IT professionals predominanetly in three sectors: investment banks, the rapidly growing mobile telecommunications market and on the customer side of the outsourced services most often associated with India.

“What better place than home [for Indian expats] where companies are crying out for their talents?” Chandel asked.

To help clients there fill their vacancies, Huxley is utilising its “huge pool” of Indian expat talent, predominantly senior executives with niche skills, on the firm’s global database.

Chandel recently returned to the SThree fold after some years away to take up the India country directorship for Huxley. The Delhi-based India office will get its formal launch on 4 May, he said, adding: “We’re on a soft launch at the moment.” However, Huxley has had a presence in India since last year as it conducted research to assess the market and its requirements.

The fees Huxley is charging in India are “in line” with what the company is earning elsewhere in the world, he said. “While it is a challenge to introduce yourself and your operation at that [senior] level, it has sat well with clients.”

A marketing spokesman for Huxley said that the firm is “recruiting aggressively” for its operations around the world, especially in Asia-Pacific (Hong Kong, Singapore), Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg. the Netherlands, the UK and the US, as well as for India.