Sakshi Education
Venkat Kanchanapally
In the era of global series of ups and downs, job market stays dry. Employment for the most of our engineers and graduates waits on the vulnerable edges of market. In this day of hiring gloom, a Hyderabad-based engineering college - GNITS scored a near cent per cent placement result for its outgoing batch of 2013-14. Key maker of this success is Venkat Kanchanapally, Founder President and CEO of Suntek Corporation, the company that has been working on bridging the gap between industry and academia.
Mr. Venkat makes a friendly note on successful careers for engineers. Have a read.
Q: How do you see “employability quotient” in engineering graduates today?
The number of engineering colleges has increased rapidly to nearly 500 and above in the last decade resulting in the output of 1, 50,000 engineers from AP alone. It is a good factor that professional education is in reach of a common man and ordinary people aim at becoming an engineer. We also have witnessed the explosive growth in the IT sector in the last decade. This has resulted in a big ‘Supply and Demand’ gap among fresh talent.
There are nearly 100 premier colleges with 30 per cent and nearly 400 tier 2 and 3 colleges with 70 per cent of total engineering strength. The recruitment percentage of in premier colleges is just 25 per cent and 10 per cent among tier 2 and 3 colleges. Companies prefer a one-day drive in premier colleges, which would fetch them good enough numbers. They wouldn’t like to make more visits to the same colleges. This results in leaving out of the employable profiles in premier colleges. On the other hand, companies do not want to visit tier 2 and 3 colleges to cut down their costs and time. These students have only options such as participating in Pool Campus Drives, Employee reference and Walk-Ins.
Q: What skill set, in your opinion, puts together a better “employability quotient” among engineering students?
The Problem Solving Ability which determines IQ levels is the fundamental skill for an Engineer. Hence Aptitude Test would be held first as the mass elimination round for Job Interviews and Higher Education Entrances. Aptitude practice is just a medium to develop the application of mind. The Interpersonal Skills are mandatory and are observed through Group Discussion Sessions. The basic need of an Engineer is to be technically communicative.
The Presentation, Communication, Body Language and Leadership are preferred social skills and have value addition for a profile. Technical Skills are the core and students being techno consciousness at college level develops applicative approach. It results in knowledge and provides broader view to have a vision for a relevant career. The right attitude, logical approach, determination, team work and visibility are analyzed through HR interview to understand personality.
Q: How is the job market for engineering graduates today?
During the IT boom, the employment was more in the service sector and the requirement for skilled professionals was on the higher side. The market gradually stabilized and rose towards saturation. On the other hand, the disturbances of the international market had resulted in recession for quite some duration. But now the product development has become the key area which require technical competency.
Added to it the ongoing economic slowdown and the accompanying woes, rising inflation and interest rates, a weakening rupee and stalled investments has resulted in low hiring. The situation is not encouraging for the engineering students, who are dreaming of a prospective career after their education. There is an essential need to be technically competent.
Q: What do you think are the key recruitment needs of present job market?
Companies are mainly looking at the manpower with Multitasking which would cut down numbers and consequently the costs. The technical expertise with domain knowledge and the exposure of real time applications at the college level help companies to minimize their post recruitment training hurdles and cost. Industry orientation among the students develops a broader view of the industry and results in having proper vision of their career. This aspect would minimize the recruitment exercise and the gap between industry and academia could be filled up to a major extent.
Q: How do you think the engineering colleges are equipping their students professionally?
The colleges are basically providing Campus Recruitment Training (CRT) to their students on their own or through an external vendor. It includes aptitude training, soft skills and sometimes technical skills. Colleges guide students to involve in academic projects in final year with an intention to develop exposure for real time application. Industry Orientation programs are organized for awareness. The quality levels of implementation and the productivity vary from college to college.
Q: What do they lack? Where do they succeed?
Proper resources are lacking with majority of engineering colleges. They should have required infrastructure, technical setup and expertise manpower. The individual focus towards students is a point of difficulty. The platform is provided considering the average requirements of students to become industry ready. There is a possibility that some percentage of students do not have benefit from such programs. It may not have cent per cent employability output. This output will be decreasing from a premier college to a tier 3 college. The engineering colleges are adapting technology advancements and up grading themselves on their own or with an association of a technology partner from the industry. This gives way for an R&D activity and in such case institutions become a platform for innovations as well.
Q: What role does and should institution play in placing its students with right firms?
The institution and industry connectivity is essential. Institutions should always have an understanding of the industry expectations and monitor the developments. On the other hand assess the student skill levels and provide a platform to become Employable. They need to associate with training organizations for the expertise required beyond their own provision. Programs that develop knowledge about existing technology and its evolution need to be organized with help of industry personal. Exposure about current affairs and market trends need to be provided.
Q: What is the method of Employability Development Program of Suntek?
Every student undergoing education dreams of a prospective career. Employability Skills are the key to fulfill their dreams. The pre-assessment of Students Hiring Potentials is the first step of this program to understand their current skill levels and realize the gap. The suitable career option for each and every individual is analyzed by our expert team with a personal discussion based upon their capabilities. These steps help us to understand the career path of all the students on an individual level. As a second step, the students are categorized into batches based up on their capability and respective career options. The course will be customized according to the batch. We will then arrive at the duration and respective cost of the program. The customized training will be delivered with performance evaluation of the students. We will make sure that our expectations are met in the lines of output in each and every stage of our program. A team of HR professionals will co-ordinate the training delivery, performance evaluation and final productivity. As this program involves efforts from students as well, any performance deficiency will demote the student to a lower category and vice versa. After successful completion of the program, we organize a post assessment for hiring potentials. We will review the skill up gradation and career option. A final Employability report would be ready. We share and represent the Employable Profiles to respective companies, which would result in Campus Recruitments. Companies would be happy to find relevant profiles because of categorization done. Also the post recruitment training hurdles and cost will come down up to a major extent due to the Employability Skills Development.
Q: What are the Training Areas in Employability Skills Development?
The training starts with Aptitude. We believe a person must first develop application of mind which would increase their IQ levels. We have a unique approach of developing the capability of visualization of problem and solving it without formula which is exactly the requirement of corporate. The Quantitative Aptitude, Analytical Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, Data Interpretation, Data Sufficiency, Verbal Ability are the key areas. Interpersonal Skills are developed with lot of interactive approach. The practice sessions are designed for public speaking, group discussions, in such a way that they would increase the capability of a person, develop determination and keep up confidence.
The focus is on Presentation, Communication, Body Language and Leadership Skills. A practice with case studies and how students deal them will develop right attitude and logical approach. Technical is the core aspect of performance. The industry experts will develop awareness about technology evolution, the current existing system, the deficiencies and the possible innovations. This would develop a broader view for a student about the industry. It would in turn develop the techno consciousness among students at the college level. Students are involved in real time application development with the help of industry experts. A step ahead of this, the internships are provided in the industry for the capable students.
Q: Can you brief us on your Hiring Potentials Assessment (HPA) approach?
The objective of Hiring Potentials Assessment (HPA) is to identify the Employable Profiles (We call them Green Profiles). HPA is a comprehensive assessment of job aspirants considering the skill requirements of companies. It is a campus drive consisting of Aptitude Test, Group Discussion, Technical Interview and HR Interview. HPA would result in 2 categorizations. 1. Employable Green Profiles, 2. Skills short Orange Profiles. The Employable Green Profiles will be maintained as a pool in the form of a web portal and shared with the companies. This would overcome the limitations of companies who are not visiting tier 2 and tier 3 colleges. Also it becomes a good platform for students who are not noticed by companies and do not get an interview opportunity. The skill short orange profiles will undergo Employability Skills Development Program.
Q: Explain your experiences in implementing HPA based Employability Skills Development (ESD) project in GNITS.
Institution has a social responsibility of providing the best platform for students to upgrade their skills and achieve their dream careers. In this process it is essential for institutions to have industry connectivity. The association of industry expertise to make students Employable is the need of the hour. As part of this initiative Suntek and GNITS had an association to provide end to end solutions to bridge the Employability gap. We had a lot of analysis of the Institution, found the following findings and executed the program.
Mr. Venkat makes a friendly note on successful careers for engineers. Have a read.
Q: How do you see “employability quotient” in engineering graduates today?
The number of engineering colleges has increased rapidly to nearly 500 and above in the last decade resulting in the output of 1, 50,000 engineers from AP alone. It is a good factor that professional education is in reach of a common man and ordinary people aim at becoming an engineer. We also have witnessed the explosive growth in the IT sector in the last decade. This has resulted in a big ‘Supply and Demand’ gap among fresh talent.
There are nearly 100 premier colleges with 30 per cent and nearly 400 tier 2 and 3 colleges with 70 per cent of total engineering strength. The recruitment percentage of in premier colleges is just 25 per cent and 10 per cent among tier 2 and 3 colleges. Companies prefer a one-day drive in premier colleges, which would fetch them good enough numbers. They wouldn’t like to make more visits to the same colleges. This results in leaving out of the employable profiles in premier colleges. On the other hand, companies do not want to visit tier 2 and 3 colleges to cut down their costs and time. These students have only options such as participating in Pool Campus Drives, Employee reference and Walk-Ins.
Q: What skill set, in your opinion, puts together a better “employability quotient” among engineering students?
The Problem Solving Ability which determines IQ levels is the fundamental skill for an Engineer. Hence Aptitude Test would be held first as the mass elimination round for Job Interviews and Higher Education Entrances. Aptitude practice is just a medium to develop the application of mind. The Interpersonal Skills are mandatory and are observed through Group Discussion Sessions. The basic need of an Engineer is to be technically communicative.
The Presentation, Communication, Body Language and Leadership are preferred social skills and have value addition for a profile. Technical Skills are the core and students being techno consciousness at college level develops applicative approach. It results in knowledge and provides broader view to have a vision for a relevant career. The right attitude, logical approach, determination, team work and visibility are analyzed through HR interview to understand personality.
Q: How is the job market for engineering graduates today?
During the IT boom, the employment was more in the service sector and the requirement for skilled professionals was on the higher side. The market gradually stabilized and rose towards saturation. On the other hand, the disturbances of the international market had resulted in recession for quite some duration. But now the product development has become the key area which require technical competency.
Added to it the ongoing economic slowdown and the accompanying woes, rising inflation and interest rates, a weakening rupee and stalled investments has resulted in low hiring. The situation is not encouraging for the engineering students, who are dreaming of a prospective career after their education. There is an essential need to be technically competent.
Q: What do you think are the key recruitment needs of present job market?
Companies are mainly looking at the manpower with Multitasking which would cut down numbers and consequently the costs. The technical expertise with domain knowledge and the exposure of real time applications at the college level help companies to minimize their post recruitment training hurdles and cost. Industry orientation among the students develops a broader view of the industry and results in having proper vision of their career. This aspect would minimize the recruitment exercise and the gap between industry and academia could be filled up to a major extent.
Q: How do you think the engineering colleges are equipping their students professionally?
The colleges are basically providing Campus Recruitment Training (CRT) to their students on their own or through an external vendor. It includes aptitude training, soft skills and sometimes technical skills. Colleges guide students to involve in academic projects in final year with an intention to develop exposure for real time application. Industry Orientation programs are organized for awareness. The quality levels of implementation and the productivity vary from college to college.
Q: What do they lack? Where do they succeed?
Proper resources are lacking with majority of engineering colleges. They should have required infrastructure, technical setup and expertise manpower. The individual focus towards students is a point of difficulty. The platform is provided considering the average requirements of students to become industry ready. There is a possibility that some percentage of students do not have benefit from such programs. It may not have cent per cent employability output. This output will be decreasing from a premier college to a tier 3 college. The engineering colleges are adapting technology advancements and up grading themselves on their own or with an association of a technology partner from the industry. This gives way for an R&D activity and in such case institutions become a platform for innovations as well.
Q: What role does and should institution play in placing its students with right firms?
The institution and industry connectivity is essential. Institutions should always have an understanding of the industry expectations and monitor the developments. On the other hand assess the student skill levels and provide a platform to become Employable. They need to associate with training organizations for the expertise required beyond their own provision. Programs that develop knowledge about existing technology and its evolution need to be organized with help of industry personal. Exposure about current affairs and market trends need to be provided.
Q: What is the method of Employability Development Program of Suntek?
Every student undergoing education dreams of a prospective career. Employability Skills are the key to fulfill their dreams. The pre-assessment of Students Hiring Potentials is the first step of this program to understand their current skill levels and realize the gap. The suitable career option for each and every individual is analyzed by our expert team with a personal discussion based upon their capabilities. These steps help us to understand the career path of all the students on an individual level. As a second step, the students are categorized into batches based up on their capability and respective career options. The course will be customized according to the batch. We will then arrive at the duration and respective cost of the program. The customized training will be delivered with performance evaluation of the students. We will make sure that our expectations are met in the lines of output in each and every stage of our program. A team of HR professionals will co-ordinate the training delivery, performance evaluation and final productivity. As this program involves efforts from students as well, any performance deficiency will demote the student to a lower category and vice versa. After successful completion of the program, we organize a post assessment for hiring potentials. We will review the skill up gradation and career option. A final Employability report would be ready. We share and represent the Employable Profiles to respective companies, which would result in Campus Recruitments. Companies would be happy to find relevant profiles because of categorization done. Also the post recruitment training hurdles and cost will come down up to a major extent due to the Employability Skills Development.
Q: What are the Training Areas in Employability Skills Development?
The training starts with Aptitude. We believe a person must first develop application of mind which would increase their IQ levels. We have a unique approach of developing the capability of visualization of problem and solving it without formula which is exactly the requirement of corporate. The Quantitative Aptitude, Analytical Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, Data Interpretation, Data Sufficiency, Verbal Ability are the key areas. Interpersonal Skills are developed with lot of interactive approach. The practice sessions are designed for public speaking, group discussions, in such a way that they would increase the capability of a person, develop determination and keep up confidence.
The focus is on Presentation, Communication, Body Language and Leadership Skills. A practice with case studies and how students deal them will develop right attitude and logical approach. Technical is the core aspect of performance. The industry experts will develop awareness about technology evolution, the current existing system, the deficiencies and the possible innovations. This would develop a broader view for a student about the industry. It would in turn develop the techno consciousness among students at the college level. Students are involved in real time application development with the help of industry experts. A step ahead of this, the internships are provided in the industry for the capable students.
Q: Can you brief us on your Hiring Potentials Assessment (HPA) approach?
The objective of Hiring Potentials Assessment (HPA) is to identify the Employable Profiles (We call them Green Profiles). HPA is a comprehensive assessment of job aspirants considering the skill requirements of companies. It is a campus drive consisting of Aptitude Test, Group Discussion, Technical Interview and HR Interview. HPA would result in 2 categorizations. 1. Employable Green Profiles, 2. Skills short Orange Profiles. The Employable Green Profiles will be maintained as a pool in the form of a web portal and shared with the companies. This would overcome the limitations of companies who are not visiting tier 2 and tier 3 colleges. Also it becomes a good platform for students who are not noticed by companies and do not get an interview opportunity. The skill short orange profiles will undergo Employability Skills Development Program.
Q: Explain your experiences in implementing HPA based Employability Skills Development (ESD) project in GNITS.
Institution has a social responsibility of providing the best platform for students to upgrade their skills and achieve their dream careers. In this process it is essential for institutions to have industry connectivity. The association of industry expertise to make students Employable is the need of the hour. As part of this initiative Suntek and GNITS had an association to provide end to end solutions to bridge the Employability gap. We had a lot of analysis of the Institution, found the following findings and executed the program.
- GNITS is promoted by G. Pulla Reddy group, who have good values. This factor helped us to propose our comprehensive program which is contributive to the students. Management provided infrastructure, administrative and financial support.
- The academic captain of the ship is Mr. I Ramachandra Reddy, Director with 35 years of experience in teaching and administration. He headed top engineering colleges in AP. He has an excellent vision as ‘How to drive this Institution to a higher level’. It helped us to have lot of brain storming about the existing system and arrive at the best possible solutions.
- Training and Placement department is headed by Mr. B Venkateshulu, a professor from ECE back ground with a positive approach. The collective effort was possible because of a pro active person like him.
- Students are very good in communication skills. They have an impressive attitude. There were deficiencies in Problem Solving Skills, Presentation Skills, and Technical Skills. But there was a serious participation for the program. They have put their best efforts to follow our guidelines and upgrade their deficient skills.
- The challenges were first setting up their goal, making them follow a daily time table, tuning all the students of a batch, getting accustomed to our methodology, performance evaluation. On the other hand developing a techno conscious environment, industry orientation, transforming them from face book and all to linkedin and other professional sites.
- Finally a competitive environment with not just desperateness but with lot of determination is developed in the campus.
- An online support with all forms of communication has helped us to reach each individual and solve their problems on a daily basis to keep them in the race.
In spite of hiring being low, we could achieve these selections with a collective effort of Management, Director, TPO, Students and Suntek. Industry has also endorsed the effort made by Suntek in bringing up Employability to near cent percent.
Total Eligible strength – 507, Total offers – 482. More companies are in the pipeline.
Infosys – 219, Accenture – 218, Deloitte – 29, Cap Gemini – 14 and JP Morgan – 2.
Q: Any further details you would like to share.
The intellectual levels of Indians were always been high on the global platform. The present student generations also possess good intellect. It is important to have good practices of life. Ultimately it is a prospective career that keeps us stable, gives satisfaction and results in a meaningful life. Hence it is important for every student to aim for a prospective career option at their college level and have a balance of personal and professional life.
______________________________________________________________________
An alumnus of CBIT, Venkat Kanchanapally is creator of a unique model to aid institutions with an end-to-end training model to enhance ‘employability’ quotient among students. He is the founder president and CEO of the Suntek Corporation, an employability solutions firm oriented in bridging the gap between industy and academia.
Venkateshwar Raju Kanchanapally
CEO & Founder President,
Suntek Corporation
Total Eligible strength – 507, Total offers – 482. More companies are in the pipeline.
Infosys – 219, Accenture – 218, Deloitte – 29, Cap Gemini – 14 and JP Morgan – 2.
Q: Any further details you would like to share.
The intellectual levels of Indians were always been high on the global platform. The present student generations also possess good intellect. It is important to have good practices of life. Ultimately it is a prospective career that keeps us stable, gives satisfaction and results in a meaningful life. Hence it is important for every student to aim for a prospective career option at their college level and have a balance of personal and professional life.
______________________________________________________________________
An alumnus of CBIT, Venkat Kanchanapally is creator of a unique model to aid institutions with an end-to-end training model to enhance ‘employability’ quotient among students. He is the founder president and CEO of the Suntek Corporation, an employability solutions firm oriented in bridging the gap between industy and academia.
Venkateshwar Raju Kanchanapally
CEO & Founder President,
Suntek Corporation
Published date : 29 Oct 2014 12:54PM
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