|
|
|
|
|
| Monday, April 14, 2008
Initiatives to improve employability
Placement cell being set up to cater for students of government
colleges in rural areas
CHENNAI: With “employability” becoming a buzzword
in higher education, the State Government is planning several
initiatives to improve the prospects of government college graduates
in the job market.
The Higher Education Department is establishing a placement
cell in the Directorate of Collegiate Education to cater to
the needs of students of government colleges in rural areas.
Senior department officials said that while government colleges
had their own placement cells, most companies tend to focus
on urban areas. The Directorate’s placement would give
rural colleges access to potential employers. An official has
already been assigned to handle the placement cell. But with
examinations under way, the cell’s activities will only
begin in the next academic year.
Besides coordinating recruitment activities, the placement cell
will encourage companies to make presentations for final-year
students on the job market and the skills needed to succeed.
The cell will also interact with the Directorate of Employment
and Training to spot job opportunities.
The department is also tying up with the Directorate of Employment
and Training, which runs the Industrial Training Institutes,
to introduce job-oriented courses in all government colleges
from the next academic year. Presidency College, Chennai, has
been experimenting with such a programme, offering add-on diploma
courses in technical skills, such as television repair, in association
with polytechnics.
The new scheme will seek to extend such benefits to students
from across the State, the aim being “to equip students
with the skills to get a job as soon as they graduate,”
an official said.
English language laboratories are being built in 60 government
colleges, at a cost of Rs. 5.5 lakh each. If students are to
have the soft skills and communication capabilities that will
make them employable, their teachers must gain them first.
The Higher Education Department is planning a programme to impart
soft skills to government college teachers next year. The programme
is likely to cover all districts through a rotation process,
with three days in each centre and 30-40 teachers in each batch,
according to senior officials. The department is holding discussions
with Microsoft to run the programme, though an official said
other companies could also be considered as potential partners.
Microsoft already runs Project Shiksha, which is in the process
of delivering IT literacy and skills development to over 80,000
teachers of government schools across the country.
All fresh recruits to faculty ranks are expected to undergo
an orientation programme, including training in communication
and soft skills, launched earlier this year.
The second batch of trainees will come from the recruits for
the 522 SC/ST vacancies, which were recently notified, and the
540 general vacancies which will be notified soon.
Courtesy: The Hindu
|
| << Back |
|
|
