With the global meltdown slowly clogging the Indian markets, the students of Punjab Engineering College are getting a first-hand experience of the economic turmoil. As many as twenty job offers have been withdrawn from the students here, with the Civil Engineering branch being the worst-hit. It was the same Civil Engineering branch that had initially attracted the most lucrative offers from job recruiters.

Talking to Newsline, Prof K K Garg, Training and Placement In-charge at PEC, said: “There are no projects and thus the companies involved in construction are not hiring. Also, with the code of conduct setting in, no new projects are being initiated that has put the entire civil industry in a complete freeze.”

The companies that have cancelled recruitments include: Flour Daniel, Larsen & Toubro and Bechtel. Also, companies related to travel like make mytrip.com have withdrawn offers to three students from the college.

Some companies have chosen to postpone the joining dates till as late as January next year.

Experts in the field explain that the economic slowdown has not only hit the IT and Banking sector as the food and travel sector involving the hotel industry too has experienced a cut in jobs.

At the University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET) department of the Panjab University, less than 70 per cent of the students have got placed.

Training and Placement Officer at the department, Dr Gurdeep Singh, says: “There are hardly any jobs and it has been over three months since the last company visited us. With companies postponing the joining dates, the next batch will be ready for placements when the current students join work.”

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