out of the 792970 students who graduated in the year 201718 as many as 359193 were absorbed through campus placementsthe employability of indian engineers has been under a scanner for quite some time now with reports claiming that over 80 of engineers were unemployable in the knowledge economy but with hrd minister ramesh pokhriyal nishank stating in the lok sabha that 4529 of engineering graduates found jobs through campus placement in the 201718 academic year the prospects of graduate engineers seem far from bleakthe campus placements across the indian institutes of technology iits national institutes of technology nits and indian institutes of information technology iiits in 201819 accounted for 17946 students out of the total 23298 graduateswhile no institution can guarantee 100 placement on an average 4550 of engineers get employed through campus placements this still does not take into account the remaining 50 who join their family business take to higher education or start their own entrepreneurial ventures only 1020 of engineers struggle to find jobs for a period of time says anil sahasrabudhe chairman aicteemployment of graduate engineers through campus placements is becoming increasingly important since it affects an institutions reputation and admission figures says v ramgopal rao director iitdelhi where the training and placement cell provides personality development programmes and industry talks to groom students for the job marketwith the number of companies visiting iitd campus this year witnessing 15 increase over last year the graduating 2019 batch were provided sessions on resume making communication skills and multiple mock placement tests the institute also organised a career conclave with a view to help students make more informed career choiceschanging paradigmthe placement process claim experts has undergone a drastic change with industries preferring to recruit only those who are skilled have done projects in latest technology domains or have proven their abilities in innovation competitionsthe notion of employability has changed from possessing a mere degreediploma to skill in the trending technologies says ajai chowdhry chairperson iiit naya raipur where the career development cell trains students with employmentoriented soft and domainspecific skillspositive trendthe recent market demand for emerging technologies such as ai iot blockchain robotics data sciences cyber security etc live project based summer internships and an optimistic it and electronics market are fueling the growth of employability opportunitiescompanies are bullish on hiring international placement offers are on the upswing and more recruiters are offering attractive packages and challenging opportunities chowdhry says he believes the domestic production and indigenous technology can increase job opportunities since these are built into the make in india initiatives where engineers have a key role to play it makes their upskilling all the more importantway forwardto address industrys rapid progress institutions need to update their curriculum emphasise on mandatory industry internships groom faculty in the highend technologies inculcate among students a culture of selflearning and identify their talent to give them opportunities in specific domains to enhance their job prospects says sahasrabudhe