Layoffs in IT send jitters to students

Visakhapatnam: The proposed downsizing of staff by IT majors has not only left a sense of panic among the IT employees, but has also created confusion among students over the job prospects of computer sciences and IT courses. The changing preferences in engineering admissions, due to the reported massive layoffs in IT companies, are already palpable in the ongoing counselling at two private universities of Andhra Pradesh.

After concluding the second day of counselling on Tuesday, Gitam University observed that around 1,500 students of 2,000 opted for traditional engineering streams like mechanical, civil and electronics — a trend which was not seen in the previous years. The same trend is expected to be witnessed in the upcoming state-level and national-level counselling sessions. However, Indian Instit-ute of Petroleum and Energy director V.S.R.K. Prasad allayed the fears of the students.

“Those, who are really interested in studying computer science, IT and other IT-related branches can opt for them without any hesitation as it still has a huge employment potential. The doors will always stay open for innovative thinkers as our software export market could be expanded to countries other than the US, Canada and UK and other European countries. However, a major thrust can also be given to conventional courses like BSc and research activities, which could create more jobs than any other sector in the future,” said Dr Prasad.

Things were all rosy for the Indian IT sector until the advent of automation, which decreased the dependency on staff. Andhra University College of Engineering principal and professor P.S. Avadhani said the slump in the IT sector could be a temporary phenomenon for the next two years. “The IT sector will continue to grow and offer innumerable job opportunities to the students as its sheer presence is required in every sector in the future. However, a mere graduation certificate doesn’t guarantee an IT job to an aspirant. Innovation and creativity are needed for the future IT job aspirants rather than just programming skills. The menial jobs will only be taken away by automation,” explained Dr Avadhani.