Campus recruitments on an upwards trend in Kottayam

Updated on: Monday, December 20, 2010

The economic downturn has passed by and companies are flocking to the colleges in the district to select the engineers and the managers of the future.

The global recession had affected adversely many colleges, particularly those in the engineering field, and campus recruitment had come to a disturbing slump. “While the aggregate placements in the

college stood at 85 per cent in 2008, this number took a dive to 40 per cent in 2010. The downward slope of the world economy has had a definite impact on the number of vacancies available in companies,” says Sebastian Joseph, Placement Officer, Mangalam College of Engineering.

According to Prof. Tom Zacharia, Placement in-charge, St. Joseph’s College of Engineering and Technology (SJCET), the alarming trend also threatened the futures of placement officers in many colleges. Such was the extent of uncertainty that had crept in during the period.

However, the drastic measures, adopted by the major economic powers, have brought in the much-needed respite with companies hiring students in large numbers yet again.

A large number of software-based companies are slated to visit colleges for recruitment. The major ones among these include Wipro, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Accenture, Congnizant Technology Solutions (CTS), Hewlett-Packard (HP), IBS, HCL, NeST Software and UST Global. Fast-developing firms like Patni Computer Systems, Firstsource, Spectrum Computers and OPI Global have entered the fray in recent years. If the initial reports of placements are signs of things to come, the future looks secure for the large number of prospective software developers. To accentuate the wide scope of opportunities, international companies like American Megatrends Inc. (AMI) have realised the immense potential of students and have begun recruiting from campuses.

Students, pursuing the courses of B.Tech, B.C.A., M.C.A. and certain streams of B.Sc., are being preferred by forthcoming employers. According to Brijesh George, Placement Officer, Marion College, the recently-acquired interest of employers in recruiting B.C.A. and B.Sc. students could be attributed to various facts like the demand of lesser pay packages compared to students of other streams. “Companies are also of the general perception that these students can be trained at a faster rate. Such factors play vital roles prior to placements,” says Mr. George, who also serves as the Secretary of Placement Officers’ Kerala, a group comprising of 254 placement coordinators from all round the State.

Options are available, though not in plenty, for students opting to pursue careers in non IT-based firms. “A substantial percentage of students, those belonging mainly to the streams of Mechanical, Civil and Electrical engineering, prefers to remain in the same fields that they have been educated. Normally, a large number of such students refrain from accepting jobs in IT companies and strive towards pursuing professions of their choice. Of these, many proceed to realise ambitions of higher studies in highly-reputed institutes like the IISc, the IITs and the NITs,” says Dr. S. Jayakumar, Placement Coordinator, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology (RIT).

The major employers for such jobs include the likes of Larsen & Toubro (L & T), Mahindra & Mahindra, the Indian Navy, and Galfar Engineering and Contracting. Others that are expected to frequent campuses to recruit students of the 2011 Batch include KMC Constructions and the Kolkata-based BOC India.

Interestingly, the brunt of the recession did not result in a significant dip in the salary packages offered by the companies. The cost to company (CTC), a gross pre-tax salary, which takes into account the incentives provided by the employer has largely remained the same. “Almost all of the major companies offered annual salary packages ranging from Rs. 3.25 lakh to Rs. 3.75 lakh,” says Dr. S. Jayakumar, RIT. Prof. Tom Zacharia, SJCET and Mr. Brijesh George, Marion College testify to closer ranges of salary package. A notable feature in this regard is that the salary ranges are expected to be hiked soon after commencement of jobs as the post-recession period promises to become profitable for companies.

Owing to a large number of factors, the lack of communication skills among students has remained as a major bone of contention during appearing for placement tests. According to Thomas Paul, Placement

Coordinator, Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, the proximity of colleges to developed cities play a significant role in shaping such skills. The absence of such modernised townships has hindered progress in this respect. However, the colleges have taken certain measures to provide for the development of a wide range of skills in order to prepare their wards for the task that lies ahead. Special focus is dealt in imparting continuous and comprehensive training to the students. Many colleges commence such programmes right from the first semester. These programmes include personality and communicative skill development, training for group discussions and personal interviews,professional orientation, resume writing and aptitude test coaching. Of late, companies like TCS and Accenture have begun to conduct pre-recruitment programmes in some colleges.

The future prospects for those students pursuing Masters of Business Administration (M.B.A.) appears bright. Recession had, in fact, left this stream unscathed to a large extent.

Among those major firms that have been recruiting M.B.A. graduates include PricewaterhouseCoopers India (PwC), UAE Exchange, State Bank of Indian (SBI), State Bank of Travancore (SBT), ITC Ltd., ICICI Prudential, Federal Bank, Future Group, IndiaMART, Muthoot Finance, Vasan Eye Care Hospital and CGH Earth.

Notably, a large number of graduates have been, in recent times, showing a marked inclination towards accepting opportunities in fields of specialization other than Marketing and Sales. “This is largely due to the fact that these fields bring upon employees a huge amount of stress related to profession, owing to targets and deadlines that are set by companies. As a result, many prefer jobs in fields like Human Resources and Systems, which are relatively lesser demanding in terms of work pressure,” says Prof. George Mathai Tharakan, Head of the Department, SJCET School of Management.

B-schools are known for the great deal of emphasis provided for the all round development of students. Such programmes are being held parallel along with the academic curriculum. The colleges have adopted

unique approaches to student training programmes. “Various programmes like decision-making trainings, psychometric and emotional intelligence tests have been included. Moreover, a placement-oriented training programme has been scheduled prior to the recruitment drive,” says Prof. Umesh Neelakandan, Core Committee member, DC School of Management and Technology (DCSMAT). According to Mr. George Luka, Head of Corporate Relations, Saintgits Institute of Management, various clubs have been constituted to conduct trainings on extempore, presentation and other skills. Moreover, interaction with industry experts in the Corporate Interaction programme of the college enables students to choose their paths of future.

The grim picture that had existed during the global economic downturn has subsided and parity has been restored by giving way to a wide spectrum of opportunities for students. Companies have returned to familiar manner by recruiting these bright talents in large numbers.

Campus recruitments on an upwards trend in Kottayam

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