72,096 jobs await graduating students

Job fair of the Education department kicks off today; 4,607 companies to take part; event to be conducted in 30 districts till February 21; out of 94,461students who register, 30,136 confirm their participation

Unemployment, and lack of job opportunities, has become a talking point in the last few years. In a bid to provide employment avenues to students enrolled in the final year of degree courses, Gujarat Government's education department aims to generate 72,096 jobs offers from 4,607 companies in a placement fair that starts from Thursday.

The job fair would be held simultaneously in 30 districts of Gujarat till February 21, on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

On the flip side, despite large number of registrations to participate in the placement camp not many have confirmed their participation. According to Knowledge Consortium of Gujarat (KCG), only 30136 students out of 94,461 who registered have confirmed their participation in the placement fair.

KCG has sent personal message with registration number and link to students to confirm their participation to avoid last minute hassles for recruiters in conducting interviews.

The lackadaisical response from students raises concern over youngsters not grabbing opportunity provided to them at their doorstep. The placement camp has jobs offering salaries ranging from Rs 1.4 lakh to Rs 4 lakh per annum, said officials.

KCG officials are now pinning their hope on on-spot registrations as KCG has gathered details of all graduating students.


Those working closely with the placement fair said there are almost double the jobs on offer against the students who have confirmed. This leaves room for anyone who even goes for on-spot registration.

Principal Secretary, Higher Education, Anju Sharma said students should lap up the opportunity. "We are expecting more on-spot registration. Arrangements have been done. We hope to get good response. We have also asked teachers to train participating students for interviews and other rounds," she said.

Students in the final year of the course said even when they have registered, they will not be participating in the placement fair. "I would like to pursue Master's degree course. Getting job after graduation is not my priority. We hope the same opportunity is provided for Master students through a centralised fair," said a student.

Principals said their colleges also have their own placement system. "This may be one of the reasons why students may have registered but not confirmed their participation. They might have already landed jobs," said an official in KCG.