Jobs elude techies: 'IITs need to adapt to shifts in industry'

A degree from one of India’s premier tech schools is no longer a guarantee for a top-notch job. Even for the ones, who are lucky to get placed, the average salary is generally much less than what was offered three or four years back. In an interview with DH’s Gyanendra Keshri, Chief Executive Officer of TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, A R Ramesh, talks about challenges in placements of techies passing out from the top engineering institutions.

Excerpts:

What is your assessment about placements of students passing out from top engineering institutions, especially the IITs, this year?

As of April end, around 33% of students of the IIT Bombay and 40% of the IIT Delhi have not got any placement. The IIT Delhi has about 1,840 students, while the IIT Bombay has about 1,975 students. If you look at the other IITs, around half have not been placed. This is the placement scenario of April when the academic year was almost coming to its end. The average salary offered is significantly down. Several students have been offered even less than Rs 10 lakh per annum.

Why is the placement situation in the premier tech schools not very impressive this year?

There are multiple factors. The bulk of the hiring from the IITs used to be done by the MNCs. However, most of the MNCs are going through severe macroeconomic challenges due to geo-political uncertainties with wars in different parts of the world. Uncertainties in the global economy have impacted hiring. There was indiscriminate over-hiring during the pandemic. In the IT and the IT services sector, more than 5 lakh people have lost jobs since 2022 globally. In India, last year alone, the headcount in the IT sector was reduced by over 70,000. This number is based on the annual reports of just four big firms – TCS, Infosys, HCL, and Wipro.

Have the advances in Artificial Intelligence impacted the placements?

Yes, AI certainly has an impact. If you look at the World Economic Forum data, 85 million jobs worldwide will be affected by AI. But, at the same time, 97 million new jobs will emerge because of AI.  That means we are gaining 12 million. So, the job scene will not turn worse, but people will have to get re-skilled and up-skilled, because the nature of the job is completely changing. 

What do the IITs, and other tech schools need to do?

The HR leaders are using innovative approaches to build their talent. Rather than offering a high salary to freshers, many of them are using apprenticeship and vocational training. It’s like a ‘try and buy’ model. The IITs and other top institutions need to reinvent themselves. They have to blend in AI as part of their curriculum. For example, only computer science engineers could write programmes 10 years back. But, because of artificial intelligence and large language models like generative AI, anybody, even those who are working on the manufacturing shop floor, can today write programmes. So, tech schools need to align themselves with the shift in the industry.