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Pandemic slows down placements
HIRING AMID FIRING Amid uncertainty in the academic calendar of higher educational institutions and downsizing of industry in the region due to the Covid-19 pandemic, campus placements have taken a hit
HIRING AMID FIRING Amid uncertainty in the academic calendar of higher educational institutions and downsizing of industry in the region due to the Covid-19 pandemic, campus placements have taken a hit. HT reporters from J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh find job offers are on hold due to the slowdown and Covid-19 curbs, leaving youngsters anxious. The pharmaceutical industry offers a silver lining as it wants candidates to join at the earliest, while the reliable and buoyant information technology (IT) sector is in wait and watch mode. Offer letters have not been cancelled but joining has been deferred . The outlook is, however, bleak for those in the hospitality and tourism sectors. Virtual job fairs and upgrading soft skills are trending in a crisis that offers new opportunities
Joining letters in hand, GNDU students keep fingers crossed
The Covid-19 pandemic may have delayed their joining but no company has gone back on its job offer to students of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar, despite reports of layoffs due to the economic slowdown.
At least 729 students of the 2019-20 batch were offered jobs by 58 companies in July last year. Most of them were hired by information technology (IT) companies, including Capgemini and Tata Consultancy Services.
“The process takes a year. Those offered jobs last year will be joining anytime. They have got their joining letters. A pharmaceutical company of Punjab has asked the 10 students it recruited to join as early as possible,” says university placement in-charge Amit Chopra.
“Students hired by leading IT companies in Gurugram, Bangalore and Hyderabad are waiting due to the coronavirus-induced travel restrictions. IT companies are planning online joining,” he said.
With the placement season for students of the 2020-21 batch set to begin, Chopra said the hospitality and service sectors have been hit but IT will cover up. “There will be more jobs in IT. Due to the pandemic, everything is being managed online. Some IT companies have already approached us,” he said. -Anil Sharma
Online hiring, virtual job fairs in Ludhiana
Due to social distancing, companies are hiring students from campuses after video interviews and online assessments but the process has been slow.
At Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana, for instance, the placement cell was able to arrange jobs for only 25 final year students in three months, while 280 students were placed in companies such as Airbus and Samsung before March.
The lifting of the Covid-19 lockdown has buoyed hopes in the IT sector. Placement officer GS Sodhi says companies are interested in hiring students of computer science engineering.
Prabhudeep Singh, a final year student selected by SafeAeon, a California-based computer security company, says, “I was worried as many companies have laid off employees due to the recession. Thanks to the college placement cell and companies holding online interviews in May, I was selected and joined on June 1.”
More than 200 students of the Industrial Training Institutes have been recruited in the virtual job fair being held along with the district bureau of employment enterprises in the past fortnight.
Government ITI, Gill Road, principal Baljinder Singh, says, “The virtual job fair is on and interviews will be held after July 15. The jobs in demand are those of welder, fitter and machinist.”
Balwant Singh, 22, a former student of ITI, Gill Road, says, “After passing out, I started working with a private firm as a welder but was laid off during the lockdown. Last month, I got in touch with my class in-charge who told me about the virtual job fair through which I’ve been hired by Hero Ecotech Limited at a monthly salary of Rs 17,200.” -Deepa Sharma Sood
Bathinda students await jobs in changing times
Campus placement at the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Technical University in Bathinda failed to take place this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
University placement cell in-charge Harjot Singh Sidhu says exams for the final semester are still to be scheduled, so companies have not approached the institute.
“Last year, more than 120 major companies held campus interviews and seven students were hired by an online learning enterprise. Though raw, the promising students got an annual package of Rs 10 lakh each,” he said.
All students from textile engineering and management schools of the last batch got placed in 2019. “However, cononavirus is leading to changes that depend on the market demand. New avenues are opening up,” Sidhu said. Vishal Joshi
Online tests, interviews on at LPU, Phagwara, PTU
The process of conducting online placements for the 2021 batch of Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, is underway despite the Covid pandemic.
“We have conducted online placements for companies, including multinationals,” says Aman Mittal, who heads the division of international affairs at LPU.
Though most students graduating in 2020 were placed in the last semester by February this year, the placement team is working to ensure opportunities for the 2021 batch.
The IK Gujral Punjab Technical University (PTU), Kapurthala, conducted its placement drive in May and two companies are in the process of hiring students.
Deputy director, corporate relations, Navdeepak Sandhu said that the companies have held online tests and the final recruitment process will start soon. An IT consulting and services company interviewed 400 students. -Jatinder Mahal
Law firms take online option for hiring; Patiala university gears up
The pandemic has not only delayed the academic session but also affected the placement processes at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL) and Punjabi University, Patiala.
RGNUL registrar Naresh Kumar Vats said law firms and corporates are approaching the university to conduct placements online. “Interviews are being held online. Since this is a new process, it will take a few days to be streamlined,” he said.
Punjabi University placement cell director Manjit Singh says the process generally starts in September after students get admission in the final year of engineering and management courses. “The admission process was delayed due to Covid. We will invite companies for placement once the situation improves in September,” he said.
Last year, 366 engineering students got jobs in different companies. “Thirty-eight high-profile companies visited the campus. Of them, only one company recently informed the university that it would defer appointment by three months,” he said. -Navrajdeep Singh
UIET, UBS students safe so far but PEC, CU face the heat
The economic slowdown has not yet impacted job offers for students of Panjab University but it has affected the prospects of students from Punjab Engineering College.
Officials say so far no offer has been revoked by any company for students of University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET) and University Business School (UBS). According to the placement data, 103 of the 129 students who applied have been placed from UBS this year. The highest annual package for a UBS student this time is ₹55 lakh.
Manoj Bobhariya, the student placement coordinator at UBS, said, “No company has revoked any job offer to our students.” Among the companies that recruited students from UBS this year are American Express, Avery Dennison, Bacardi, Edelweiss Tokio, HSBC, Infosys, Tolaram, Volvo Eicher and HDFC.
At PU’s University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET), around 300 students were placed this year. Sarbjeet Singh, placement officer at UIET, said, “This year, however, we could not conduct the placement drives for students who were not selected.”
But the story is different at Punjab Engineering College (PEC) and Chandigarh University. Job offers of six PEC students were revoked by United Airlines, while two companies withdrew offers of five students at Chandigarh University during the lockdown.
Himani Sood, director, placements, at Chandigarh University, Mohali, said, “After the job offers of five students were revoked, we managed to get them placed in other companies. We conducted virtual drives.”
At Chitkara University, no job offers of students have been revoked but internship programmes have been affected.
More than 150 students were placed this year at Goswami Ganesh Dutta Sanatan Dharma College in Sector 32, Chandigarh. “We are back on track. Online interviews are being conducted and companies are ready to take students,” said college placement officer Kapil Dev. Dar Ovais
Kurukshetra University upgrades soft skills of students in uncertain times
With campus placements becoming a challenge during the Covid-19 pandemic, Kurukshetra University has begun an online soft skill development course for its students.
KU’s placement cell facilitates jobs to about 500 students every year, but this time only 50% of the students managed to get placement before the lockdown. The hospitality, management, tourism and the service sectors are affected the most. Job offers are for information technology (IT) students as work from home and digital marketing are trending.
“Only 30 students have been placed in the past three months of the lockdown and most of the jobs are related to the IT sector. Axis Bank and Policy Bazaar used to hire around 100 students every year, but this time they have not come forward yet,” placement cell in-charge Mohinder Singh says. “Usually, 90% of students in our professional courses would get placed, but this year there is uncertainty,” he adds.
But the placement cell is helping out students by holding an online soft skill development course. Nearly 1,000 students have undergone the training so far and upgraded their skills.
A final year student of BTech, printing and technologies, says, “All my seniors used to get placed but this year, there were no campus placements. Due to the lockdown, companies are not hiring.”
Bhavna Goyal, an MSc (chemistry) passout, who was among 11 students hired by IOL Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Limited, Barnala, in February, however, said that she was waiting for the joining on July 5. “The company has completed all formalities and I look forward to joining my first job along with four of my friends soon,” she said. - Neeraj Mohan
Pending exams, slowdown have HP students worried
The Covid-19 pandemic has not only hit campus placements but also disrupted the academic schedule of students in Himachal Pradesh.
Suniel Kumar, the placement cell in-charge at the University Institute of Information Technology, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, says, “Normally, the placement process starts in August when students are in the seventh semester. Most of those offered jobs last year have not been able to join work yet due to the pandemic restrictions.”
The eighth semester exams are also pending so students are forced to wait.
“The companies which visit our campus after March were not able to come this year,” he said.
However, Dr Nitin Gupta, the training and placement officer at Shoolini University, Solan, said the institution starts its placement drives early so students had got job offers before the pandemic started. “Recruiters continued to engage with us online during the lockdown so it was business as usual with minimal interruptions,” he said.
Amit Namta, the placement officer at AP Goyal University, Shimla, admitted that only preliminary interviews are being conducted. “The university was closed due to the lockdown so the placement process was delayed.”
Puneet Kumar, 20, a final semester student of electrical engineering at Government Polytechnic College, Kullu, however, said, students are worried as companies, both government and private, are delaying job offers.
Mohan Singh, the father of a final year student of hotel management in Shimla, is equally concerned. “My son was to complete his graduation this year and we were hoping that he would get placed but with colleges closed due to the pandemic, we can only hope for the best.” - Navneet Rathore
Covid delays exams, job offers for students at Jammu University
The Covid-19 pandemic is a testing time for Jammu University students who are yet to take their final exams and uncertain about job offers in hand.
Vinay Chauhan, the placement officer of the university, says the placement process started in October last year and 70 students got job offers. “They were to join after their exams, which are getting delayed because of the pandemic. In the present scenario, insurance and IT sectors offer better prospects but the prime concern is to clear the exams.”
Piyushka Pargal, 23, a fourth semester student of MBA from Jammu University, said, “I was placed with ICICI Bank before Covid but didn’t get any offer letter. Our exams have been postponed so we are neither unemployed nor students anymore.”
Meanwhile, the placement cell has initiated a web lecture series, roping in experts from the US, to upgrade skills of MBA and MCA students. Sahil Koul, another MBA student, said: “We are upgrading our skills for new challenges. Covid will bring new opportunities.”
However, BK Bhatia, the placement official of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University at Kakryal in Reasi district, said, “Our campus placement is almost complete. We started early last year. Infosys has taken 28 students, Wipro 24, TCS 34 and 13 students have been picked up by another MNC.”
He said some companies such as Bosch India conducted online exams and interviews. As many as 191 students from MBA, engineering and other streams of SMVDU have been placed.- Ravi Krishan Khajuria
Online job offers unlock hope in Kashmir
The Covid pandemic put the brakes on campus placement drives in higher educational institutions of Kashmir but the unlock phase has come with hope for students upgrading their soft skills.
“Big brands in tourism, automobiles and banking sectors used to come to our university but during the lockdown, the corporates did not show interest,” said Dr Zia-ul-Haq, placement officer of Central University of Kashmir. “The question is of stability. Many organisations are laying people off. Campus placements are futuristic and businesses can only recruit when they see a bright outlook. Manufacturing is down, supply chains are disturbed, and transportation is minimum and the future uncertain,” he said.
At National Institute of Technology (NIT), Srinagar, two students were placed online during the lockdown. “We had one placement during the lockdown and another student was placed in an oil company in the first week of June,” said Dr Obbu Chandra Sekhar, head of the training and placement department at National Institute of Technology, Srinagar.
He said that June had shown promise after the announcement of the unlock. “Things are better. A research company did online recruitment of five students recently. Five to six more companies are in the pipeline,” he said.
All recruitments are happening online. “Most of these companies are research oriented, software and public sector undertakings,” he said.
At Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST), Awantipora, an e-commerce organisation is to hold an online placement drive for recruiting customer service associates.
“We managed to get a few students placed during the lockdown in an online educational company and one student in Apple,” said Dr S. Iqbal Querishi, in-charge career counselling and placement officer of IUST.
“There is a change in recruitment. Work from home is the new concept but our 2G internet speeds are hampering the online recruitment. There is a change in student mindset to target companies looking for work from home,” he said.
The students are also scaling up things to improve their skill sets, particularly in information technology.
“The post lockdown period will be more technology-oriented. Some common sectors of work from home will be online tuitions, filing tax returns, content writing and related aspects. We have been attempting to organise online workshops for students,” said Central University of Kashmir’s Zia-ul-Haq. “Nobody knows where all this will end and we can’t just wait. The initiative has to be taken,” he said. - Ashiq Hussain
