India’s engineering field was once considered a coveted profile with easy access to employment. With the changing landscape, the number of engineering graduates 🧑🎓 is increasing yearly, and job placements are becoming more limited. The IIT and NIT tag is now vanishing and their is an increasing number of unemployed engineering graduates are finding it hard to find a job. The employment ratio is worsening and in recent years the number of unplaced ITTans is witnessing an increase.
Apart from IITs and NITs, several engineering colleges🏫 are producing graduates each year without any promising prospects for jobs. Among all fields of engineering, students from civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering are more affected by unemployment.
This worsening scenario of unemployment among engineering students has raised concerns among academic and industrial sectors. Concerned quarters are now looking for the causes that lead to this situation and trying hard to find solutions. In this article, learn about the reasons contributing to the increasing number of unemployed engineering graduates.
Top Reasons Why Engineers Are Struggling to Find Jobs
From a prestigious and promising career path to a struggling field, engineering is going through a challenging period. Graduates are struggling to get placed and thousands of new students are graduating👩🎓 every year from colleges and universities leading to a chaotic situation. Let’s dive deeper to find out the causes and reasons of unemployed engineering graduates .
1. Quality of Education
IITs and NITs 👨🏼💻👷♂️are some of the institutions of engineering in India recognized for their high-quality education and standard infrastructure to offer quality engineers. However, these institutions are not the only campuses where engineers are produced. A large number of students are passing out from different private and public colleges where educational quality is not up to the international benchmark. These engineers have shortcomings and the low-rank colleges do not provide them with the required skill and exposure.
Unfortunately, the quality of education and standards in most engineering colleges is low so they are churning out degree holders without any idea of practical knowledge and skills. This leads to a mismatch between the requirements of the engineering job💼and the expectations of students.
Some of the engineering graduates lacking practical knowledge find it hard to get places after passing out and require some practical experience before being able to compete for jobs. So, the quality of education is a major factor of unemployed engineering graduates.
2. Skills Mismatch
With the advancement of technology💻🤖, industries went through a revolution leading to the use of different latest equipment, tools, and IT solutions. Students passing out from low-profile colleges lack the skills to be compatible with the latest technology and tools used in different industrial sectors🏭. The mismatch of skills with the latest technology leads to inefficiency in finding a placement.
The curriculum in colleges is not aligned with the needs and requirements of the actual field and creates a mismatch of skills. Fresh engineering graduates lack skills that employers expect leading to a skill gap mismatch. Therefore, the 2nd important cause that leads to an increase in unemployed engineers is the mismatch of skills.
3. Lack of Soft Skills
Another reason that contributes to the unemployed engineering graduates is the lack of soft skills . Technical knowledge and understanding of the field are not the only requirements to find a job in today’s competitive market . Soft skills are necessary to get placed in a better position and grow professionally . Skills such as communication 🗣️, problem-solving 🧩, teamwork 🤝, and adaptability 🌍 are important for employability and play a crucial role in enhancing chances of employment .
Engineering students often lack these soft skills and find it hard to communicate effectively . This deficiency also hampers their ability to express talent and demonstrate abilities . Learning soft skills, including effective communication, teamwork, and problem-solving, can significantly improve the employability chances of fresh engineering graduates .
4. Overdependence on Campus Recruitment
Traditionally engineering students depend heavily on campus recruitment to get placed. With the increasing number of engineering students, it become hard for companies and recruiters to offer jobs to all graduate students through campus recruitment. The heightened competition, in campus recruitment🏢, has made it difficult for many engineering graduates to secure a desirable job leading to unemployment. Campus recruitment also offers a limited number of job opportunities that only a few engineers can avail of.
So, to overcome these issues, students should prepare for competitions and acquire the necessary skills to be compatible with the job market.
5. Economic Conditions and Industry Trends
Another factor that makes it hard for engineering graduates is the economic fluctuation and changing trends in the industries. The skills and knowledge preferences have changed over time and students are struggling to keep pace with these changing trends.
Somewhere, economic conditions also play an important role in the job market. Students entering in the job market💵 when the economic conditions are not good, find it hard to secure a job. Thus, economic fluctuations and industry trends are also responsible for the increasing number of unemployed individuals.
6. Lack of Industry Exposure
Low-rated colleges don’t focus on developing practical skills and imparting industry-focused knowledge to students resulting lack of necessary industry exposure among the graduates🎓. The lack of practical industry exposure limits the ability of students to be prepared for the actual work. Colleges should arrange some practical internships to provide a basic experience to students regarding the work realities.
Adequate industry exposure helps students in smooth translation to professional roles. Therefore, to bridge the employment gap, it is essential to provide some industry exposure to students during their engineering courses.
7. Demand and Supply Mismatch
Another valid reason for the increasing number of unemployed engineering graduates is the mismatch in supply and demand⚖️. Students are pursuing engineering courses without a realization of the demand for these courses. Colleges and universities are producing graduates in large numbers but the demand is low resulting in a chaotic situation.
For instance, one of the popular branches of engineering is electronics & communication and a significant number of students opt for this course without evaluating the demand for professionals from this field in the market. So, this demand and supply mismatch is another underlying cause for the increasing number of unemployed engineering graduates.
Conclusion
In conclusion, several factors and reasons contribute to the increasing number of unemployed engineering graduates. Low quality of education📚, lack of practical knowledge, mismatch of skills, and lack of soft skills are among the top reasons for the unemployment of engineers. Supply and demand mismatch, lack of industry exposure, and economic downfall💵 can also contribute to the unemployment of engineers. Furthermore, outdated curriculum and a lack of knowledge regarding the latest industry trends also promotes joblessness among graduate engineers.
