The majority of talent for the IT industry lies in tier-II colleges and cities which are partially or completely ignored by companies for fresher placements in India, according to a study.
The scientific assesment team, Aspiring Minds, which compiled the study, segregated the country’s colleges into a top 100 campus list and compared their employability with the rest of the campuses (which they termed “tier II” campuses).
To calculate their “employability”, around 250,000 engineering and MCA students across the country, from more than 12 states, were tested on AMCAT, a test accepted by Indian IT/ItES companies as a standard of measuring candidates’ skills.
Campuses which fall in the top 100 campus list were segregated and their employability was compared with the rest of the campuses (tier 2 campuses) and it was discovered that the major skill deficiency between the two categories was in quantitative abilities and not in communicative abilities as presumed.
More than 70 percent of all students employable for IT product sector and more than 80 percent of all students employable for the IT services/KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) sector are in tier 2 colleges, the study said.
Another interesting fact unearthed by the study is that the difference in employability for female versus male technical graduates is not more than two percentage points in any IT/ITeS sector.
Comparing their test scores it was found that while women performed better in english and computer programming, males surpassed the females in logical ability and quantitative ability.
Showing posts with label Engineering Graduates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Engineering Graduates. Show all posts
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Engineering graduates lack employable skills: FICCI and World Bank Survey: Nov8th 2010
A major skill gap exists among Indian engineering graduates, making a strong case for the engineering colleges and institutions to focus more on employability and quality, says a survey, jointly carried out by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the World Bank.
According to the survey,,64 percent of surveyed employers are “somewhat”, “not very”, or “not at all” satisfied with the quality of engineering graduates’ skills.
The survey has said that employers are relatively satisfied with the graduates when it comes to communication skills in English, but not with the graduates’ reliability. “If colleges want to improve the employability of their graduates, they have to focus on reducing these important skill gaps through improvements in curriculum and teaching methods.” said Hiroshi Saeki, an analyst at the World Bank.“Most important, graduates have to be able to formulate, analyse, and solve a real life problem using standard engineering techniques,” he added.
The survey also said the companies differed in the kind of engineers they would like to hire. IT companies demand advanced computer skills and communication in English, while infrastructure firms want engineers with strong knowledge of math and abilities to use modern tools and technologies.
Added FICCI secretary general Amit Mitra: “This finding shows that the faculty and deans of each college have to closely interact with employers to design education programmes that respond to the specific skill demands of the employers.”
According to Andreas Blom, senior education economist at the World Bank: “The survey highlights the need for colleges to focus on the skills of the graduates. Each college should define the set of skills that a graduate is supposed to have after each semester.
Further, colleges need to change pedagogical style from teacher-centric to student-centric, and include more assignments for students to independently analyse and apply tools on real life problems, he added.
“Only through such changes in the teaching-learning process will the future engineers become more employable.”The top three most important general skills identified were integrity, reliability and teamwork, while the top three most important specific skills are entrepreneurship, communication in English and use of modern tools and technologies.
According to the survey,,64 percent of surveyed employers are “somewhat”, “not very”, or “not at all” satisfied with the quality of engineering graduates’ skills.
The survey has said that employers are relatively satisfied with the graduates when it comes to communication skills in English, but not with the graduates’ reliability. “If colleges want to improve the employability of their graduates, they have to focus on reducing these important skill gaps through improvements in curriculum and teaching methods.” said Hiroshi Saeki, an analyst at the World Bank.“Most important, graduates have to be able to formulate, analyse, and solve a real life problem using standard engineering techniques,” he added.
The survey also said the companies differed in the kind of engineers they would like to hire. IT companies demand advanced computer skills and communication in English, while infrastructure firms want engineers with strong knowledge of math and abilities to use modern tools and technologies.
Added FICCI secretary general Amit Mitra: “This finding shows that the faculty and deans of each college have to closely interact with employers to design education programmes that respond to the specific skill demands of the employers.”
According to Andreas Blom, senior education economist at the World Bank: “The survey highlights the need for colleges to focus on the skills of the graduates. Each college should define the set of skills that a graduate is supposed to have after each semester.
Further, colleges need to change pedagogical style from teacher-centric to student-centric, and include more assignments for students to independently analyse and apply tools on real life problems, he added.
“Only through such changes in the teaching-learning process will the future engineers become more employable.”The top three most important general skills identified were integrity, reliability and teamwork, while the top three most important specific skills are entrepreneurship, communication in English and use of modern tools and technologies.
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