The State has around 400 IT companies, including start-ups that recruit engineering graduates every year.
One of the problems that colleges and students in smaller cities face is lack of knowledge about what the companies expect of students.
For the past four years, Employability Bridge, has been working with colleges in Tier 2 and 3 cities in the State.
Emmanuel Justus, chief executive officer, has been helping to dispel the myth among recruiters that the colleges in smaller cities lack in talent. “Placement officers ask me how many students will clear the test. The reality is that good students are out there. Instead of a company visiting 40 campuses, we bring students together,” he says.
Even Anna University, which conducted placement drive outside Chennai last year, managed to rope in only two core companies - Tata Communications and IBM. Other core engineering sector companies were reluctant to move to smaller cities, officials say.
“Typically, recruiters look for aptitude or communication skills. Technically, the students are able to respond well. Our experience is that companies manage to fulfil 75 per cent of their requirement from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Since the candidates are generally first-generation learners or financially backward they tend not to reject job offers. When these students get their jobs in core engineering companies 90 to 95 per cent of them join,” says Mr. Emmanuel.
While IT sector may be taking a large number of students from the cities, smaller towns offer more opportunities for students from the core sector, he adds.
This article has been corrected for a factual error.
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