Engineers are a plenty, jobs are scarce

Team Herald

PANJIM: Nitin Vaidya (name changed) completed his BE (Information Technology) from a reputed college of engineering in Goa some years ago. After an unsuccessful search for an engineering job in the State for over a year, he began studying for an MBA degree. Today Vaidya, a qualified engineer, works in a non-technical field.

Like him there are many others in Goa. Of the 1,200 engineering graduates that are produced from five engineering colleges in the State, 20 per cent to 30 per cent do not find jobs, and many others are employed in jobs that are well below their technical qualifications. While some others take up jobs which have nothing to do with their education, the rest travel abroad for further studies as they are not able to find jobs.

The question is whether there is a decline in students getting jobs or is it their skills which act as failure in fetching those jobs? 

Experts and educationists say there are various factors responsible for this, one being that the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) easily grants permissions to set up engineering colleges and many institutions do not have the faculty to train students. Other experts say that the curriculum is not in sync with the growing industry.

Former Education Director Anil Powar said, “The market for engineering jobs has been declining in Goa as the demand (for jobs) is more and the supply is less. Another reason is that the merit level is gone down while also the skills. Also due to the paid seats many people take up engineering but they do not have the actual skills. There are engineering colleges but the industry is not there,” Powar said.

However, Shree Rayeshwar Institute of Engineering and Information Technology chairman Subhash Shirodkar had a different view. “Who said there no jobs or there is no less market for engineering, it is a global opportunity. The world is getting technologically advanced and one has to move out if one needs the opportunity. Also in our college we have been receiving maximum companies for campus placement and the number is only increasing,” Shirodkar said.

There is a general feeling that though the number of colleges and programmes are increasing in the State, the lack of quality education persists. Profit-hungry managements, lack of skill education, shortage of faculty are major issues plaguing higher education. Graduates are collecting degrees despite not being skilled enough to be a productive part of the Indian economy. 

The fourth edition of the National Employability Report for Engineers by Aspiring Minds, an employability evaluation and certification company, found that only about 18 per cent of engineers were employable for the software services sector. 

A change is expected to come soon. Speaking to Herald, IT Minister Rohan Khaunte said, “Goa needs a talent pool. If industries want to come down they also want a talent pool and if we want employment we need industries to come. Policies that will come out soon, like the IT Policy will create a synchronisation of bridging the gap between the employer and the employee by certain incentives to the people through campus interviews. This will ensure that the gap of unemployment from college stops.” 

He added, “At the same skilling those on the right path and asking the people who have gone outside to come and settle back will give a wide talent pool to industries. Post policy launch, a lot of aggression on IT sector will be seen.”