Colleges expect 90 percent jump in hiring

Engineering colleges are witnessing an increase in number of IT companies knocking on their doors looking for skillful students for recruitments.

“Almost 75 per cent of students got placement offers in campus recruitments last year, but we expect recruitments to go up by 90 per cent this year. So far, around eight top IT firms have visited our campus and recruited 15 to 20 per cent of students, out of the 150 students who took part in interviews,” said Mr A.K. Balakrishnan, chief placement officer at Karunya University.

The university normally witnesses more than 50 per cent of students getting placed in IT firms every year. Further, he said the recruiting firms are adopting easier ways to identify skillful students.

“The students have to take online tests in the first round, which is followed by several rounds of interviews to test their technical and individual skills,” he said.

Mr A. Ramesh, placement coordinator for Sri Krishna Group of Institutions, said unlike last year, the IT firms this year are vying with each other to pick the talented lot among the students.

“The number of students’ intake in recruiting firms has also gone up significantly. For instance, Wipro, which offered placements to around 80 students last year, has given offers to 134 students this year. Similar is the story in all other firms,” he said.

As many as 550 of the 763 eligible students have been placed in different IT firms so far at Sri Krishna College of Engineering. “After the end of recruitments by IT firms, the core firms will land to recruit students from streams like Mechanical and Electronic engineering,” said Mr Ramesh.

CEO of Park Group of Institutions Anusha Ravi said the placement scenario was looking up and there have been a steady number of companies trooping into recruit students.

“As we impart customised training to enhance the employability skills of students, a good number of students get recruited in campus placements. Around 15 companies have recruited over 50 per cent of students so far,” she said.

Take the case of N. Arun Prasath, a final-year Mechanical Engineering student of Sri Krishna College of Engineering. He got offers from CTS, Accenture and Infosys during the placement drive. All the firms have offered an annual package of more or less around Rs 3.25 lakh per annum.

“In fact, it happened to be a tough task to arrive at a decision to select the one best suited for me. One of the firms wants to sign a bond, which stipulates the employee to forgo six months’ salary if one has to break the bond and leave before that.

There were pros and cons in each company, which I came to know by discussing with my faculties and seniors employed there. I have decided to go with a firm that provides me with best work atmosphere and better appraisals,” said Arun.

The 763 eligible students in Sri Krishna College of Engineering have got a total of nearly 1,000 offers. “Most of the students got multiple offers and students are left with a choice of choosing the best,” said Mr A. Ramesh, placement coordinator of the institution.

With most of the frontline companies offering such a hefty pay package, Sri Eshwar College of Engineering at Kinathukadavu has fixed salary criteria for companies that come to their campus.

“We gave priority to top firms that offer more than Rs 3 lakh per annum to students placed by them. Every year, around 45 companies come for recruitments, and 15 have arrived so far this year. More number of companies will turn up in the months to come,” said Mr R. Raja Ram of Sri Eshwar College of Engineering at Kinathukadavu.