IT biggies to hire from mid-tier colleges too

BANGALORE: Technology companies, which are recovering from the downturn hangover, are now knocking at the doors of not just premier engineering colleges but mid-tier ones as well. Officials from several colleges say that firms such as TCS, Wipro, Infosys, HP, Cisco, Sapient, IBM, Convergys BPO and Symphony Services plan to hire in a big way.

At BMS College of Engineering, 100 of the 800-900 students, who will pass out in January 2010, have already got placed and they have been offered salaries ranging between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 4.5 lakh per annum. “I am confident that even in difficult situation, there will be over 50% placement,” BMS placement officer HS Jagadeesh said. He said NetApp, HP, Aricent, Goldman Sachs, Infosys, Wipro, MindTree, and public sector units like HAL and BEML are expected to hire from the college.

HKBK College of Engineering expects companies, such as Infosys and Wipro, and a host of smaller companies to hire from its batch of 380 students. “IT companies now prefer to recruit final year students. However, there are many engineering students sitting on the bench and companies prefer to place them first, because of their experience,” said Abdul Hameed SA, administrator at HKBK.

RV College of Engineering’s director for placement NS Narahari says that they have sent invitations to 100 companies. Firms like HP and Informatica have already visited the campus, while Wipro and Infosys have promised to visit in January 2010.

According to R Nalini, principal at AVC College of Engineering, TCS, Infosys and Wipro have informed them that they will visit their campus in January 2010 to recruit freshers from their batch of 500 students and it expects more than 50% placement. RVS Engineering College, which saw less hiring in 2009, expects better placements this time. “The situation was so bad that even BPOs had stopped visiting the campus,” an official said.

However, students are aware of the weak dollar and the impact of the credit crisis, and are ready to get placed with salaries ranging between Rs 1.8 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.

“IT firms are hiring in large numbers, but you may not get the desired position or salary,” said a techie, who was waiting in a long queue for a job interview on Diwali day. GC Jayaprakash, principal consultant at Stanton Chase International, said firms have started expanding their operations in India over the past two quarters and there is a surge in outsourcing contracts.

“These companies do not want to lose out any more business due to the non-availability of human resources,” he said. To make students industry-ready and save time on training, firms are collaborating with colleges and universities, to teach technical skills.“Some engineering colleges are even offering to send their students to onsite locations of various firms,” said Mr Jayaprakash.

HP Khincha, vice-chancellor of VTU, said: “To increase employability of the students, we are making efforts to bring the industry and academia together.”

Engineering graduates who were unable to find jobs have started to opt for higher education and core subjects such as mechanical, electronic and civil engineering.