Awareness on technical courses needed

Hyderabad: The employability quotient of students will be higher if they have at least three technical industry certifications at the time of graduation. While industry demands the latest courses, engineering colleges are loathe to allow students to pursue new courses through the Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK) and are still rooting for conventional certifications.

This has resulted in the lack of flow of information to students regarding latest technology certifications. TASK chief executive officer Sujiv Nair said, “Industry needs students with latest courses. Recently when we concluded a ServiceNow academic programme, only seven colleges were open to let their students take the certification out of 20 colleges that we reached out to.” He said that out of the 207 students who were certified, 163 were placed. This only emphasises the fact that industry’s demands are changing and those who embrace the latest tech stand a better chance.

It was often found that even though colleges were sent the information, it did not trickle down to students. To overcome this barrier, TASK has appointed student ambassadors who inform students about the latest courses and industry needs. Mr Nair said, “We are focusing on third and fourth year engineering students who are Task student ambassadors and will speak on technology. We are also conducting meet-ups with principals to ensure they understand industry needs.”

Mr Nair said that colleges and students were finding value in the courses offered by TASK. In 2017-18, 53,279 students and 588 colleges enrolled with TASK. In tier 2 and 3 towns, TASK makes use of social media to reach out to students.