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IT firms high on recruiting engineering graduates
Wednesday, 24 September 2003, 19:30 IST
BANGALORE: In a sign of continuing large-scale outsourcing to India by global corporations, a host of local IT firms are rushing to pick up larger than usual number of students from engineering colleges this year.
After the spectre of selective hiring in the IT industry last year as firms grappled with the shock of a demand slowdown in the global tech market and backlash against outsourcing, its recruitment time again for software makers.
Placement officials at top engineering colleges here in India's tech capital are quoting double the usual number of campus placements in the third week of recruitment and a "lot more companies, including multinationals, are yet to come in", as one of them put it.
The officials are keeping tight schedules as companies led by the likes of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys Technologies, Wipro, Cognisant, Satyam Computer, Talisma and MindTree, along with multinationals like Huawei Technologies, IBM and Oracle, line up to offer letters for the batch passing out in 2004.
"We should be doubling our number this year. TCS has already recruited 50 as against 35-40 of last year, Infosys has taken 76 against 34 last year, Cognisant has taken 38 as against 16 last year.
"This is the most positive sign in the last couple of years," Chandrasekhar Murthy, placement officer, R.V. Engineering College, told IANS.
That is not all. In the next week or so, companies like HCL Perot, Planetasia and Subex Systems will be coming in for their first rounds of talent search.
The story is not very different in other prominent colleges like the B.M.S. Engineering College and PES Institute of Technology (PESIT).
"A couple of multinationals are to fix up the dates but their participation has been confirmed," added Murthy.
Industry officials -- a couple of whom agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because this is the silent period before the second quarter results are out next week -- agree that campus recruitments indicate more offshore work flowing to India.
"Let us be straight about this. The industry had taken a very conservative approach on this in the last couple of years. The difference now is that there is a cautious optimism that is making companies go to the campus," an official at the human resource department of a top company said.
"Companies are also going to the campus because they are getting a good crop. Campus recruitment helps in grooming people. Campus brings in energy and culture into a company. We want them to grow along with the company. And it cuts the cost of recruitment," said T.G.C. Prasad of MindTree Consulting.
The cautious form of recruitment has led to conservative offerings to the engineer-to-be. Companies like Infosys and Wipro are offering 
10,000 during the training period before deciding to offer a concrete package.
Others are offering an average of 240,000 to 300,000 per annum.
"There is no doubt that there is higher activity in the industry. It is only indicative of a more sustainable trend as of now," said a senior human resource department official of another company.
"But in the long run whether it is sustainable and for how long depends upon various factors. Fortunately so far, it has been good and that is why deliberate but cautious hiring is happening."
Source: IANS
10,000 during the training period before deciding to offer a concrete package.
Others are offering an average of 240,000 to 300,000 per annum.
"There is no doubt that there is higher activity in the industry. It is only indicative of a more sustainable trend as of now," said a senior human resource department official of another company.
"But in the long run whether it is sustainable and for how long depends upon various factors. Fortunately so far, it has been good and that is why deliberate but cautious hiring is happening."
Source: IANS