A slight downward trend is likely in the number and kind of recruiters coming down for hiring students at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) this season of campus placements amid predictions of a global economic slowdown.
While the first-generation IITs, which will officially start the placements season on December 1, say that they are still expecting a good season, the second and third-generation IITs where placements start mid-year themselves say that not many international firms have come out so far and are in the “wait and watch” mode for the season to completely unfold.
Currently, pre-placement offers (PPOs) are being made by recruiters post-internship by students at most IITs ahead of the season starting full-fledged.
“Companies have been registering and a number of students have already been handed out PPOs, there might be some caution that the international firms may be exercising, as there have been predictions of a slowdown globally. Despite that, the big tech companies always hire from IITs even if the number of offers made is somewhat less in a given year,” said a faculty member associated with the placement cell at one of the older IITs.
The first-generation IITs include Delhi, Bombay, Kanpur, Madras, Kharagpur, Roorkee, and Guwahati. Those at Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Jodhpur, Ropar, Indore, and Mandi are among the second-generation IITs while the ones at Bhilai and Dhanbad are among the third-generation IITs. There are 23 IITs across the country.
“So far companies across sectors including tech, manufacturing, and pharma, among others have been coming down for screening students and a number of PPOs have already been made. We would know the actual scenario once the season Kickstarts in the first week of December,” said a senior faculty at IIT-Kanpur.
Among the newer IITs, some of the institutes said initially it was difficult to reach out to some of the major recruiters, both national and international, but they are expecting these firms to come down by the end of the season.
Placement cell officials at IIT-BHU said that over 270 PPOs have been given out so far and that they are expecting more companies to pour in by December.
“More than 200 companies have visited by now and we expect many more to come down by December. Initially, a large number of manufacturing firms, which is the core tech sector, came in while there’s a good mix seen lately,” said a senior faculty at IIT-BHU.
Every year over the past few years it has been seen that the highest number of recruitment are from the computer science and computing departments while last year the number of offers made in the core disciplines also saw a significant spike.
“PPOs are being made but not many international firms have come out so far, as they are cautious of over-hiring and may come in towards the end of the season. Some of the firms based in the US and UK are not investing as much in long-term projects outside of the home and hence are not coming down as of yet,” said a faculty member associated with the placement cell at one of the newer IITs.
The placement season goes on till May next year while the major period of activity is between December and March.
According to the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) report on the global economy released on October 30, global growth is likely to slow down as compared to last year and decline further in 2024. It indicates that even advanced economies are likely to experience a decline while developing economies are expected to see only a slight decrease.
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