 According to the company’s report, IT firms in India reject 90 percent college graduates and 75 percent engineering graduates due to the simple reason that they are not even good enough to be trained. These students are unable to put their knowledge into practice and so are no good for the companies.  The problem is being faced even by students from reputed engineering colleges. Laying stress on the practical knowledge and on the job skills, AD Sahasrabudhu, director of the College of Engineering, Pune,said:  “ The focus in most institutes here is always on academics and theory. Thus a mechanical engineer may actually not know how to change a part of a machine. Therefore, even if a high scoring student gets placed in a good company, eventually that lack of practical knowledge catches up.

 As experts say, the Indian higher education needs to prioritise the skill building and practical training aspects of education equally with the theoretical part. This is the only way to give our students an edge they desperately need.  In an employability study conducted last August, the firm found that merely 4.22% of engineering graduates are employable in product companies  There is a wide gap between the skills needed by employers and those possessed by the applicants. Thus, increasing the unemployability figure. Some experts believe that no matter from where the fresher is, three to six months go in training him.

 Engineering:  Revenues of the engineering companies witnessed a growth rate of 33% over the last two years. Of the total companies profiled in the sector, 62% of the companies are involved in exports and European countries are the most preferred export destinations.  It was also observed from the study that, 26% of the Engineering companies manufacture and market branded products, and 30% companies have two or more manufacturing facilities.  The profiled engineering companies are expecting the average revenue growth of 40% in the next two year

Some of the major industries include  Automobile  Auto components  Engineering/machining workshop  Fabrication  Plastic and rubber components  Dies and moulds  Machinery and equipments manufacturers  Electrical parts  Casting/ Forging  Machine tools  Electronics

 The Pune SME Clusters are playing a vital role in the economic growth of the region. There are approximately 12,500 industrial units which employ more than 842,700 people in the Pune industrial belt.  There are about 6,138 micro industries, which employ 99,000 people. But the biggest contribution comes from 6,247 SME industries that provide employment to no less than 516,000 workers. There are some 115 large industries, which employ another 227,700 people in the region.

Finishing school At present, the fresh pass out students hired by industries are given training at the level of their induction either through product- oriented training programme Finishing School is a new concept in which curriculum is developed for students to prepare them for requirements of industries. The finishing school aims to provide skills both technical and soft skills to people to facilitate their employability and play a part in the supply side issues (of talent) of the industry or through in-house training programme organized by a few industries. In-house training is limited to a basic orientation, because vendor- based training is expensive The current education system doesn’t equip Youngsters with the desired knowledge and skill sets needed to excel in the practical professional life.

Preference of Employer towards graduate engineer Survey- Outlook 2005 Top qualities employer want from engineer communication skills (written and verbal), interpersonal skills, teamwork skills, analytical skills, presentation skills. Employers say new graduates lack: Communication skills, business etiquette, work ethics etc An independent study conducted on CEOs Research Institute found that long-term job success depends 75 percent on people skills and only 25 percent on technical knowledge Study done by Harvard University- Another study done by Harvard University had even more startling results — 85 percent of jobs and promotions happened because of the candidate’s attitude and only 15 percent due to the facts and figures he packed under his belt