The College of Engineering Pune (CoEP) in Maharashtra, India is reporting that 50 percent of its students in city colleges are jobless. The PuneMirror reported that the industrial and economic slump is the culprit, which has seen only 24 percent of graduates find jobs this year compared to the ninety percent of graduates who found placement in 2015.
Dr. Govind Kulkarni, head of CoEP's training and placement cell, said, "This year, around 101 students enrolled for placements, but only 24 got jobs. Last year, 131 companies had visited the college and almost all students were placed. This year, the umber of companies was the same, but there is a dramatic drop in the selection of students. Companies have attributed this to the industrial slump. Also, overall steel production and the Chinese economy have also been hit."
"Companies are not coming to campuses as much as before. They are also not willing to pay the minimum package at par with the IT industry," says A S Kulkarni, head of the placement cell at Vishwakarma Insitute of Technology. This could suggest why some engineers end up going to the IT industry instead of pursuing civil engineering.
Elsewhere in India, in Manipal, the Minister for road transport, highways, and shipping, Nitin Gadkari, said a new plan is being put in place for civil engineering students. The idea is that they will be awarded projects with pre-determined payments that they would be paid to instead of going through the process of trying to get a tender to start working on projects. "In doing so, thousands of engineering graduates will get work experience. This will give them hands-on experiences before venturing into big projects. In road construction, the problem is not resources, but manpower. It is the right time for students to enter the business. The government system is more transparent and supportive now," Gadkari said.
However, the slump in hiring graduates still persists. A final year student at CoEP, Swati Shinde, said, "The real estate sector has ceased to grow and companies are offering less salary. Also, companies with portfolios in water supply, planning and construction have not come this year at all. I will apply to companies on my own, too."
