Date:31/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/31/stories/2008103161861000.htm

Kerala - Kochi

IT students feel the pinch

G. Krishnakumar

A placement officer said that companies have stopped visiting the campus for the last one month

KOCHI: The global economic downturn has cast a pall of gloom among young talents on the campuses here triggered by the dramatic scale down in hiring by recruiters.

Leading Indian IT and ITES companies have put their recruitment plans on hold following one of the worst-ever economic crises across the world.

Industry estimates suggest that even students from premier higher educational institutions like the IIT are receiving rejection letters from prospective recruiters. The scene is no different in engineering and technology campuses in the State.

Kochi, which had attracted the who-is-who of the Indian IT industry in to its campuses last year, is an example.

A comparative analysis showed that the number of companies visiting campuses in the commercial capital has gone down drastically following the recessionary trends. From nearly 100 companies that visited different campuses here last year, the number has gone down to 80 and below on an average basis.

Explains Bindu V., Assistant Professor, and Placement Officer at Model Engineering College in Thrikkakara: “Recruitments have come down compared to last year. Leading companies continue to visit campuses but the intake has gone down. .”

Stating that companies have slowed down on their recruitment, George Mathew, Faculty-in-charge, Training and Placement Cell at the School of Engineering under Cochin University of Science and Technology, said that a few companies that had visited the campus last year stayed away from recruitment this time. “There is also delay in joining for students who received offers from companies. Some of the leading companies had extended the joining date by two to three months,” he said. But the meltdown has worst affected students in lower-rung engineering colleges in the district. A placement officer of a self-financing college, on condition of anonymity, said that companies have stopped visiting the campus for the last one month. “We have started feeling the pinch,” he said, referring to the decision by recruiters to cut down on fresh recruitments. The harsh reality seems to have revived the demand for core engineering programmes. Placement officers are also encouraging students to apply for companies in these sectors in view of the downturn.