400 Wipro Trainees Face Extended Wait for Full- Time Conversion

At least 400 Wipro trainees are facing delays in completing the company’s Work Integrated Learning Program (WILP) and converting to permanent employment, extending uncertainty for a group that joined around four years ago. Some trainees have raised their concerns directly with Wipro’s senior management, including executive chairman Rishad Premji and CEO Srini Pallia.

WILP, launched in 1995, allows non-engineering graduates to work at Wipro while pursuing an advanced engineering degree. Participants work across areas such as software development, coding and customer support while attending M.Tech classes. Monthly stipends start at ₹15,000 in the first year and rise to ₹23,000 by the fourth, with trainees remaining on stipends until full-time conversion.

The current dispute centres on the 2022 batch. Under the original offer, academic courses were expected to begin within a year of joining, but some trainees were enrolled only around July or September 2023. One executive familiar with the situation attributed the shift to procedural delays in 2022, although Mint said it could not independently establish their exact nature. For some early-2022 recruits, the overall journey could therefore extend beyond five years.

Wipro has since shortened the schedule slightly. On September 1, trainees were informed that the conversion date had been moved forward from April 1 to March 1, 2027, with the final dissertation beginning immediately after the seventh semester as a one-time exemption for this batch. Eligible trainees meeting academic requirements could complete the programme in roughly three-and-a-half academic years.

The delay comes amid a broader slowdown in entry-level technology hiring. Wipro ended the previous financial year with $10.48 billion in revenue, down 0.3%, marking a third consecutive annual decline. Management has also said fresher hiring will depend on business demand and required skills. For affected WILP trainees, however, the issue is more immediate: an extended conversion timeline affects salary progression, benefits, career planning and financial commitments after years already spent working within the company.