IT casts skill filter for campus picks

In a year of thinning campus recruitments, two of the three large IT companies that still plan to hire freshers have told engineering colleges that they will prefer only those with certifications in advanced software skills.

- Jas Bardia & Devina Sengupta

Mumbai-based Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and Teaneck, US-based Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp will prefer to recruit only those certified in Amazon Web Services (AWS), Oracle and Java, among others, placement executives at engineering colleges said. The move, aimed to reduce training time and costs, will be a blow to many aspirants, given that not all colleges have students opting for these subjects.

Colleges said the decision by TCS and Cognizant reduces the number of students who can sit for placements. Since only three large IT firms will hire from campus this year (HCL Technologies Ltd is the third), the students don't have an option either.