Placement officers to get pointers on arranging placements for students

Officers from 900-plus colleges in the state will attend a 2-day training workshop in January; they will in turn teach students effective communication and presentation skills needed to bag good offers

By Yogesh Avasthi

Posted On Monday, December 07, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2009120720091207031818218f8b03d4f)

Unlike MBA, engineering and MCA institutes, graduates in science, arts and commerce often have trouble getting good jobs due to lack of placement support. To address this problem, the higher education department had made it mandatory for all 900-plus colleges in the state to set up their own placement cells under UDISHA (Universal Development of Integrated Employability Skills Through Higher Education Agencies) project.

After five months of organising job fairs and counselling to students, UDISHA members feel that the biggest hurdle in students getting good jobs is their lack of communication and presentation skills.

An education department source said, “Students have talent and skills, but do not possess good presentation and communication skills. Unless they can confidently communicate with recruiters and show that they are the ideal candidates for the job, landing good job offers is a lost cause.”
To address this problem, a two-day training workshop for placement officers will be organised in the second week of January, education department sources said. Udisha’s nodal agency Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University will organise the training.
During the 60-hour programme, placement officers will be trained in evaluating the interests and aptitude of students. They will teach the students basic skills such as writing a good resume to effective body language during an interview. After the training, these officers will helps students in polishing their communication and presentation skills, in time for the 2010 placements.
An UDISHA committee member said, “Placement officers often lack experience in dealing with companies and in getting the best jobs for students. Many are confused about the training that students need. Students often do not know how to write resumes and have no knowledge of the right way to conduct oneself during interviews in terms of body language, responses etc.”
Some agencies will also conduct workshops for college students as part of a pilot project.
Sources said 80 per cent of the students opt for jobs after graduation, or at least a part-time job to go with higher studies. Placement facility will also be open to arts, commerce, science post-graduation students. The move will be a godsend for arts, science and commerce graduates who hitherto could not expect a job with a solitary degree in hand.