HYDERABAD: Less than 50% of those pursuing engineering and management courses from Telangana-based institutes end up with campus placements, reveal data procured from the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE). Telangana has 377 engineering and 410 management institutions. Statistics reveal that of the total number of engineering students who graduated from the state between 2012 and 2016, only 21per cent managed to secure a job through campus recruitments. Similarly, in the case of management students, the percentage of employed graduates stood at a meagre 29 per cent.

  
The analysis of data further asserts that companies limit their placement visits to a few colleges alone, despite the managements of various institutions taking extra measures to train students for these job interviews. The biggest challenge: soft skills.


"Even if students have enough knowledge about the ir area of education, they are unable to present their case in front of recruiters. Many students face issues answering basic questions like, `tell us something about yourself '," said Ramakrishna Reddy , former placement officer at Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology (CBIT), Hyderabad.


The situation at management institutions is much the same. "The selection process comprises written test, group discussion and personal interview. In most cases, companies look for academic knowledge as well as aptitude skills. Therefore, it is advised that students brush up their skills before appearing for campus placements," said S Ramesh, senior manager, placement cell at IBS Business School.
College managements attribute this unfortunate trend to the change in requirement of companies over the last few years. "Companies now look for additional skills among students. Those with hands-on experience in areas such as Oracle, SAP, cyber security, Internet of Things among others, are preferred and find placements easily ," said K Kishore, director of training and placements at Vasavi College of Engineering, Hyderabad.