The 10 per cent conversion rate (students recruited from those attended) in the recently concluded mass recruitment drive for students of Bharathiar University conducted by Banking and Accounting Back-end Operations’ Division of Tata Consultancy Services in four districts has come as a wake up call.
From the 11,403 final year students who attended the drive in Coimbatore, Erode, Tirupur, and the Nilgiris, only 1,163 received offer letters (see graphics). But even this 10 per cent is considered by the university to be a national record in campus placements among arts and science universities in the country, by a single company.
The company recruited students from the arts, science, commerce and English streams for their backend support services in banking, insurance, human resource, service, retail market, supply chain management, market research, and contract research.
The outcome was proof that the industry was keen on recruiting only the crème-de-la-crème even at the entry level.
The selection process began with the aptitude written test.
Only 45 per cent scored well in Basic English usage and reading comprehension and 50 per cent obtained the minimum score in mathematical abilities.
On an average, 20 per cent cleared the aptitude test and 10 per cent cleared the group discussion and technical round to receive offer letters.
The university studied the selection pattern and identified some trends. Some of the inferences that has been made from the recruitment, according to M. Jayakumar, Head, Department of Extension and Career Guidance, Bharathiar University, who co-ordinated the drive, are as follows:
Only 50 per cent of final year students attended the drive, of which around 60 per cent were girls. But among these girls, many had reservations in taking up jobs outside Coimbatore and also working night shifts.
The 50 per cent who did not attend the drive said they did not do so because of lack of career focus and low confidence levels.
Among those who attended, almost 45 per cent of those who studied throughout in English medium did not fare well in the English aptitude tests.
“Much needs to be done by parents and colleges to improve the conversion rate. While most are first generation graduates, their parents are not able to guide them in making the right career choices. Also, opportunities to hone their communication skills are very limited. Colleges have to go that extra mile in improving the aptitude of the students, create an institutional mechanism for career support and personal counselling,” Mr. Jayakumar said.
Efforts were required at the college level in organising career focus workshops, aptitude assessment, interaction with potential employers, and parents’ awareness meetings.
Students can visit the websites hosted by the Department of Extension for placement support – www.careervarsity.com and www.aptitudecoach.com. They can also register to receive placement information.
