Employability Gap Among Engineering Graduates

EMPLOYABILITY GAP AMONGST ENGINEERING GRADUATES-
GROWING DISPARITY BETWEEN GRADUATE SKILLS AND MARKET
(EMPLOYER) NEEDS IN GUJARAT
Research Project Report
Submitted to
Ahmedabad Management Association
And
California State University, San Bernardino
Under
Joint Certification Program in HRM (June – December 2014)
By
Ms. Bhumi Vala Mrs. Neeti Mittal Ms. Simran Kaur

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Our special thanks to all faculty members, who gave us
important insights by sharing their professional experiences. We
would also like to thank them for guiding us throughout our project
work.
We thank Mr. Jayesh Ganatra, Dr. Sameer Pingle and Dr. P.
V. Desai, for their suggestions and guidance during the project,
reviews and presentations.
We are also obliged to Mr. Janardhanan, Mr. Deep Mehta
and entire AMA staff for their great support during our entire
program.
We are thankful to CSUSB and AMA for jointly offering this
program which has enhanced our skills in HRM and provided us
platform to learn.
We feel deeply regards to our family members, friends and
our classmates who gave us encouragement during the project
work.
We are finally thankful to all who have helped us directly or
indirectly during the project.
Bhumi Vala Neeti Mittal Simran Kaur

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sr No. Content Page No.
1. Executive Summary I-II
2. Project Outline
 Introduction
 Background: Need and Justification
 Objective
 Scope
 Significance of the Study
 Methodology
1
2
3
4
4
4
3. Literature Survey 5-7
4. Employer Data Analysis and Interpretation 8-40
5. Employee Data Analysis and Interpretation 41-52
6. Significant Findings and Observations 53-55
7. Recommendations 56-57
8. References 58

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
 IT-Information Technology
 ITeS - Information Technology enabled Services
 EC – Electronics and Communication
 MECH- Mecahnical
 CE- Computre Engineering
 EE- Electrical Engineering
 IC- Instrumentation and Control
 KPO- Knowledge Process Outsourcing
 BPO- Business Process Outsourcing
 GIL- Gujarat Informatics Limited
 GIPL- Gujarat Information Petro Limited
 GSPC LNG- Gujarat State Petroleum Corp Liquefied Natural Gas
 GTU- Gujarat Technological University
 PRL- Physical Research Laboratory
 ISRO- Indian Space Research Organization
 ONGC- Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
 KSA- Knowledge, Skills, Attributes
 US- United States
 Govt- Government
 Pvt- Private
 HR-PR- Human Resource- Personal Relationships
 GD- Group Discussion
 MS Office- Microsoft Office

LIST OF TABLES
Sr No. Title Page No.
1. Employability Percentage of Engineering Graduates in
Different Roles
2
2. Size of the Company 8
3. Degree of importance for employers to hire graduates from
reputed institutes
9
4. Satisfaction with newly hired graduates 10
5. Qualities Importance for the Job - Employer Perspective 13
6. Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Importance for the Job
- Employer Perspective
14
7. Qualities Satisfaction for the Job - Employer Perspective 15
8. Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Satisfaction for the Job
16
9. Importance & Satisfaction – Knowledge Of Subject 18
10. Importance & Satisfaction – Knowledge Of Contemporary
Issues
19
11. Importance & Satisfaction – Knowledge Of Computers 20
12. Importance & Satisfaction – Ability To Apply Knowledge 21
13. Importance & Satisfaction – Ability To Analyze 22
14. Importance & Satisfaction – Ability to Solve Problems 23
15. Importance & Satisfaction – Creative And Innovations 24
16. Importance & Satisfaction – Entrepreneurial Skills 25
17. Importance & Satisfaction – Interpersonal Skills 26
18. Importance & Satisfaction – Written Communication 27
19. Importance & Satisfaction – Verbal Communication 28
20. Importance & Satisfaction – Willingness To Learn 29
21. Importance & Satisfaction – Team Work 30
22. Importance & Satisfaction – Flexibility 31
23. Importance & Satisfaction – Reliability 32
24. Importance & Satisfaction – Integrity 33

25. Importance & Satisfaction – Self Discipline 34
26. Importance & Satisfaction – Self Motivated 35
27. Importance & Satisfaction – Empathy 36
28. Employees Qualification 41
29. Sector Specification 42
30. Type of Organization 42
31. Duration And Experience of Employees 43
32. Recruitment Selection Criteria 44
33. No of Interviews Attended by the Employees 44
34. Importance of the Qualities for the Successful Performance in
the job
45
35. Importance of the Qualities for the Successful Performance in
the job - Weighted Average Mean
47
36. Confidence on the Qualities for the successful performance in
the job
48
37. Employees Qualities Confidence Weighted Average Mean 48
38. Most Common Responses 50

LIST OF CHARTS
Sr
No.
Title Page
No.
1. Employer sector specification 8
2. Size of the Organizations responded 9
3.
Degree of importance for employers to hire graduates from
reputed institutes
10
4. Satisfaction with newly hired graduates 11
5. Govt sector- Satisfaction with newly hired graduates 11
6. Pvt sector- Satisfaction with newly hired graduates 12
7. Mfg sector- Satisfaction with newly hired graduates 12
8. Service sector- Satisfaction with newly hired graduates 13
9.
Degree of Qualities Importance for the Job - Employer
Perspective
14
10.
Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Importance for the Job -
Employer Perspective
15
11.
Degree of Qualities Satisfaction for the Job - Employer
Perspective
16
12.
Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Satisfaction for the Job -
17
13. Importance- Knowledge of subject 18
14. Satisfaction- Knowledge of subject 18
15. Importance- Knowledge of contemporary issues 19
16. Satisfaction- Knowledge of contemporary issues 19
17. Importance- Knowledge of computers 20
18. Satisfaction- Knowledge of computers 20
19. Importance- Ability to apply Knowledge 21
20. Satisfaction- Ability to apply Knowledge 21
21. Importance- Ability to analyse 22
22. Satisfaction- Ability to analyse 22
23. Importance- Ability to solve problems 23
24. Satisfaction- Ability to solve problems 23

25. Importance- Creativity and Innovations 24
26. Satisfaction- Creativity and Innovations 24
27. Importance- Entrepreneurial skills 25
28. Satisfaction- Entrepreneurial skills 25
29. Importance- Interpresonal skills 26
30. Satisfaction- Interpresonal skills 26
31. Importance- Written communications 27
32. Satisfaction- Written communications 27
33. Importance- Verbal communications 28
34. Satisfaction- Verbal communications 28
35. Importance- Willingness to learn 29
36. Satisfaction- Willingness to learn 29
37. Importance- Teamwork 30
38. Satisfaction- Teamwork 30
39. Importance- Flexibility 31
40. Satisfaction- Flexibility 31
41. Importance- Reliability 32
42. Satisfaction- Reliability 32
43. Importance- Integrity 33
44. Satisfaction- Integrity 33
45. Importance- Self discipline 34
46. Satisfaction- Self discipline 34
47. Importance- Self motivated 35
48. Satisfaction- Self motivated 35
49. Importance- Empathy 36
50. Satisfaction- Empathy 36
51.
KSAs which are most lacking and need to improve in
engineering graduates
37
52.
Actions should be taken by higher institutes as per employer’s
perception
38

53. Recommendations for Institutions by the Employers 40
54. Employees Qualification 41
55. Employee Sector Specification 42
56. Type of Organization 43
57. Duration And Experience of Employees 43
58. Recruitment Selection Criteria 44
59. No of Interviews Attended by the Employees 45
60.
Importance of the Qualities for the Successful Performance in
the Job
46
61.
Importance of the Qualities for the Successful Performance in
the job - Weighted Average Mean
47
62.
Confidence on the Qualities for the successful performance in
the job
48
63. Employees Qualities Confidence Weighted Average Mean 49
64. How to Acquire the Skills Lacking in the Graduates 50

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
India needs to re-engineer the development of engineers.
- Times Ascent
Although almost 6 lakhs engineering graduates are passing out every year
in India, however their employability remains a cause of concern. According to a
recently released report by Aspiring Minds, of the six hundred thousand
engineers that graduate annually, only 18.43% of them are employable for the
Software Engineer-IT services role. Despite the gravity of the situation, little
research has been conducted to identify the kinds of skills/attitudes demanded by
employers amongst engineering graduates and measure in which skills/attitudes
they meet employers’ expectation.
There is an increasing demand for such information from universities,
administrators, and policy makers. On the supply side, the quantity of the fresh
engineering graduates has increased by leaps and bound, due to mushrooming
of several new engineering colleges. However, while catering to the quantity, the
quality has been compromised thereby leading to very low employability of these
graduates. Hence there is a need to study the area.
The study aims to find out the deficiency in the quality of engineering
graduates called employability gap. The study seeks to explore the employer’s
perceptions of the employability skills/attitudes that technical students need to
possess, as well as assessing the employer’s level of satisfaction with the
student’s employability skills. It also seeks to explore the perception of newly
recruited engineering graduates as to which are the skills in which they felt
confident when they joined their first job and where they felt that their university
education was lacking. The scope of the study is restricted to the geographical
limits of Gujarat.
The study is exploratory in nature. Research is based on Secondary as
well as Primary data. Two sets of questionnaires have been developed, one for
the employer and the other for the newly recruited engineering graduates with 6-
12 months of work experience. Sample size for employers is 32. Approx 210
employees from the organizations, from which the employer’s data was collected,
were made to fill the questionnaires.
The study found out that the overall satisfaction of the Employers was at
somewhat level. 43% Government sector employers are satisfied and
28%Private sector employers are satisfied. Manufacturing sectors employers
satisfaction level is 35%, whereas in service sector it is 25%.Most desirable skills
while recruiting engineering graduates are willingness to learn, self discipline and
self motivation. The least significant skill as perceived by the employers was
Entrepreneurial skills. Satisfaction level was least on written communication,
ability to analyse and problem solving skills. Technical knowledge with its
application and Skill development are equally deficient. Major reasons for these

are obsolete technologies, content of the curriculum, and teaching methods.
Practical exposure with applied knowledge and learning was not found up to the
mark.
Corrective actions that should be taken by higher institutions in order to
improve the employability of their graduates as suggested by employers are as
follows: (i) 41% employers feel the engineering curriculum courses need to be
more relevant to their needs (ii) More practical exposure needs to be included (iii)
Include sector specific work placements as an integral part of the study program.
With respect to employee perspective, maximum priority was given to
Interviews in recruitment selection. Employees feel that knowledge is the most
important criteria for successful performance of the job followed by skills and
personality traits. Technical skills and problem solving are considered to be very
important by the employees for successful performance. Employees were most
confident on technical skills and emotional intelligence. They were least confident
on critical and analytical reasoning.
The engineering graduates suggested the following ways to acquire the
skills that they are lacking in (i) Through continuous practice and learning through
experience (ii) Taking help from seniors and colleagues (iii) Attending various
training programmes (iv) Acquiring technical skills and industrial knowledge (v)
Acquiring communication skills.
Areas identified by the employees that need to be included in the
university curriculum to make it more market worthy are (i) Updation of the
curriculum and practical orientation (ii) Increased industrial exposure (iii) Training
on communication and soft skills (iv) Change in examination pattern (v)Mock
interviews.
To summarise we can say, that there is employability gap among the fresh
engineering graduates and there is a need to reduce this gap. It can be done by
focusing not only on the quantity but also quality of the education in the ever
mushrooming engineering institutes. The faculties of these institutes should be
well versed with the latest technological advancements and there should be due
emphasis on periodic revision of the course content to make it more relevant to
the market needs. More practical orientation is what is desired by the engineering
students that they find lacking in the present set up. Similarly, due emphasis
should also be laid on acquisition of interpersonal and communication skills
during the four year degree program. All these steps would increase the
satisfaction level of the employers to a great extent and thereby reduce the
employability gap.

CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION
“Employability is the possession by an individual of the qualities and competencies
required to meet the changing needs of employers and customers and thereby help
to realize his or her aspirations and potential in work.” (Confederation of British
Industry, 1999)
Deriving from the above definition of employability, the absence of such qualities,
competencies and skills can be referred to as the employability gap. Employability skills are
defined as skills required not only to gain employment, but also to progress within an
enterprise so as to achieve one’s potential and contribute successfully to enterprise
strategic directions. Skill shortage remains one of the major impediments to continued
economic growth in India. Over the past 5 years the growth of Indian economy was more
than 8% on an average, including the year of the financial crisis in 2009. However,
insufficient supply of quality skills is one of the major constraints in most industries in India
(World Bank, 2009). In recent times, it has also been found that the employers find the
newly recruited employees lacking not only in knowledge and skills but also their attitude.
The problem is acute in engineering graduates.
Classification of employability skills
Employability skills can be categorized in different sets. The competence model
divides them into three major groups viz. Knowledge, Skills and Attributes (figure 1). While
Knowledge and skills are clearly visible and measurable, attributes like attitude, motivation,
values are less visible and less easy to measure.
Employability Skills (figure 1)
Knowledge Skills Attributes
1
 Knowledge of the
subject
 Knowledge of
contemporary
issues
 Knowledge of
computers like
spreadsheets,
databases
 Ability to apply knowledge
of math and engineering
 Ability to analyze and
interpret data
 Creativity and innovation
 Entrepreneurial skills
 Interpersonal skills
 Communication skills
 Integrity
 Reliability
 Team work
 Willingness to
learn
 Self discipline
 Self motivated
 Flexibility
 Empathy

Background: Need and Justification
Different sectors where engineers play a crucial role have been particularly in difficult
situations when there is unmet demand for skills. IT, infrastructure and power sectors to
name a few, are facing the most serious problem of lack of skills. For example, the
exporting IT sector reported that the major obstacle for growth is lack of skills in newly hired
graduates (World Bank, 2009). Similarly, according to a recently released report by Aspiring
Minds, of the six hundred thousand engineers that graduate annually, only 18.43% of them
are employable for the Software Engineer-IT services role. For core jobs in mechanical,
electronics/electrical and civil engineering only a mere 7.49% are employable (see Table
1).
Employability Percentage of Engineering Graduates in Different Roles
IT ROLES
Software Engineer – IT Product 3.21%
Software Engineer – IT Services 18.43%
Associate – ITeS Operations (Hardware and Networking ) 35.37%
ENGINEERING ROLES
Design Engineer – Non IT 7.49%
Sales Engineer – Non IT 16.54%
NON-TECH ROLES
Business Analyst – KPO 11.53%
Associate – ITeS/BPO 39.84%
Creative Content Developer 15.36%
Technical Content Developer 10.81%
Table no.1, Employability Percentage of Engineering Graduates in Different Roles
Source: Aspiring Minds, National Employability Report-Engineers 2014
The power sector is also facing severe shortages of qualified engineers and the
sector needs more skills and knowledge at all levels of the workforce (Ministry of Power,
2007). In the infrastructure sector as well, the focus is on shortage of qualified manpower.
The sector needs to increase its hiring by at least 2-3 times of the 2008 level where 6,000 –
7,000 fresh engineers and diploma holders joined the infrastructure sector workforce (World
Bank, 2008).
2

Despite the gravity of the situation, little research has been conducted to identify the
kinds of skills/attitudes demanded by employers amongst engineering graduates and
measure in which skills/attitudes they meet employers’ expectation. There is an increasing
demand for such information from universities, administrators, and policy makers. For
example, Government of India is implementing a program with World Bank co-finance, to
improve quality of engineering education and increase learning outcomes of engineering
education graduates. For this program as well as other initiatives, it is crucial to identify
specific bottlenecks in skills/ attitudes demanded by employers in the engineering
graduates, and provide detailed information and practical suggestions to overcome the skill
shortages and skill gap.
In today’s scenario, the jobs for engineering graduates are highly technical and
sophisticated. Shift from production oriented engineering jobs to service oriented
engineering jobs demands professionals with both sound technical and behavioral skills to
attain and retain the job. This requires highly professional candidates for increased
productivity who can thereby contribute to increase in the value of an organization. On the
supply side, the quantity of the fresh engineering graduates has increased by leaps and
bound, due to mushrooming of several new engineering colleges. However, while catering
to the quantity, the quality has been compromised thereby leading to very low employability
of these graduates. Hence there is a need to study the area.
The topic has been extensively studied worldwide while there is little research
available in India on the subject. In this study we would strive to cover the government as
well as the private sector. Similarly, our endeavor would be to collect data from both
manufacturing and service sector industries and then find out the trends in employability
gap amongst engineering graduates in various sectors. The study aims to find out the
deficiency in the quality of engineering graduates called employability gap. Once, the
reasons for gap are identified and specific skills deficient in the engineering graduates
found, the corrective steps need to be taken to reduce this gap can be enumerated.
Objectives
The aim of this research is to find out the gap in skills/attitude which the employers
look for in the fresh engineering graduates while recruiting them and to identify the skill gap
amongst engineering graduates. The encompassing objective of the project is also to work
with engineering graduates hired with 6-12 months experience in order to identify the skills
where the engineering graduates themselves feel that they are lacking, when they take up
their first job.
The following are the objectives of the study:
 To identify the skills/attitudes which the employer considers important when hiring
new engineering graduates.
 To identify the extent to which the employers are satisfied with the skills/attitudes of
engineering graduates.
3

 To identify the key skills/personality traits that are lacking in engineering graduates
as per the perception of employer.
 To identify the areas in which newly recruited engineers find themselves confident.
 To identify the areas where newly recruited engineers find themselves lacking.
 To identify the gap between the perceptions of employer and employee.
As most of the studies target on the employer’s perception, we try to give due emphasis on
the perception and attributes of the newly recruited employees as well.
Scope
The study seeks to explore the employer’s perceptions of the employability
skills/attitudes that technical students need to possess, as well as assessing the employer’s
level of satisfaction with the student’s employability skills. It also seeks to explore the
perception of newly recruited engineering graduates as to which are the skills in which they
felt confident when they joined their first job and where they felt that their university
education was lacking. The scope of the study is restricted to the geographical limits of
Gujarat.
Significance
The study will help the engineering graduates to know as to which skill sets/attitudes
are their prospective employers looking for in which they are lacking so that they can
improve on them. It will also throw light on the areas in which the university education is
lacking and which other skill sets can be made part of the curriculum for the engineering
graduates so that their employability increases. Through the above two, it will also benefit
the prospective employers in finding the right candidates for the job.
Methodology
The study is exploratory in nature. Research will be based on Secondary as well as
Primary data. Two sets of questionnaires have been developed, one for the employer and
the other for the newly recruited engineering graduates with 6-12 months of work
experience. The questionnaire has both quantitative and qualitative type of questions.
Various skills/attitudes have been identified on which employers would be required to rate
the employees with respect to the importance of that skill/attitude and their satisfaction
level. Random Sampling method has been used. Sample size for employers would be 30.
Approx 250 employees from the organizations, from which the employer’s data will be
collected, will be made to fill the questionnaires. Sampling unit would be the recruiters and
employees in Ahmedabad city. Being the capital of Gujarat, Ahmedabad is representative
of the entire state. Moreover, the employees in Ahmedabad would also have come from
different parts of the state. Therefore the data would be representative of the Gujarat state.
For data analysis, MS Office tools and Pivot tables will be used.
4

CHAPTER-2
LITERATURE SURVEY
Three research papers have been studied in depth to better understand the complex
issues and concept of employability and further used to clarify the investigation, research
methodology and tools to carry out the research. The survey also gave us clarity on framing
the objectives of our study.
Research Paper I – Sustainable Employability Skills for Engineering Graduates
in India
According to V. Saravanan (in a study conducted on Sustainable employability skills
for engineering graduates in India in 2009) the students who acquire soft skills like positive
attitude, effective communication, problem solving, time management, team spirit, self-
confidence, handling criticism, flexibility, have much better chances to survive in the tough
corporate world compared to the students who are lacking in those skills. He identified a set
of seven skills required for sustainable employability of engineering graduates in India. The
seven soft skills are, i) Communicative skills ii) Critical thinking and Problem Solving skills
iii) Team work iv) Life-Long Learning & Information Management Skills v) Entrepreneurship
skills vi) Ethics, Moral & Professional vii) Leadership skills.
The necessary data for the study was collected through interview schedules. The
researcher prepared two different interview schedules, one for the students and the other
for the placement officers. Around 15 students and 15 placement officers were contacted
for collection of data.
He came to know that majority of the placement officers are concerned more about
soft skills which are a prerequisite for campus placements. But actually for being successful
professionals, the engineering graduates must acquire the combination of the technological
skills and soft skills. That’s why the soft skills should be imbibed with the curriculum.
According to student’s perceptions, the skills like communicative skills, critical thinking and
problem solving, lifelong learning & information management, leadership etc are essential
for sustainable employability in the reputed companies. More thrust should also be given for
role play, group discussion, seminar, presentation, questioning, brain storming, book
reviews, interaction etc. to develop the required soft skills.
The placement officers remarked that in most of the leading engineering colleges,
soft skills training is outsourced and such training and personality development
programmes are conducted once in every year for only 2 to 3 days. The placement officers
suggested that soft skills training should be incorporated in the curriculum and it should be
spread over all the four years of their B.E. /B.Tech degree program. This would enhance
the students’ performance in the campus interviews. Both the technological skills and soft
skills were found to be equally important for a successful engineering professional.
5

Research Paper II – Employability and Skill Set of Newly Graduated Engineers
in India
A study was conducted by Andreas Blom and Hiroshi Saeki on Employability and
Skill Set of Newly Graduated Engineers in India in 2010. The study found that there is a
huge dissatisfaction with the quality of engineering graduates. Further, the satisfaction of
Indian employers is much less as compared to US employers with their engineers. The
skills set for engineering graduates are categorized in three skills - Core Employability
Skills, Communication Skills and Professional Skills. The Engineers who acquired all these
skills are in high demand. FICCI and World Bank conducted an on-line employer
satisfaction survey from September to November, 2009. 157 employers across sectors and
regions in India fully completed the questionnaire.
In employer’s perception, the professional skills are important and are present in the
engineering graduates. However, soft skills like communication skills and core employability
skills are lacking in engineering graduates. Further employers feel that the graduates are
strong in knowledge and understanding but lacking in higher order thinking skills like
analyzing, evaluating and solving the problem. The survey found that the skill gap in
English communication is the smallest among all other skills as colleges are doing very well
in meeting the demand for English skills.
The study concluded that other employability skills like higher order thinking skills,
analytical ability, problem solving ability and leadership skills should also be emphasized
during the degree courses at University level. It suggested that engineering education
institutions should: (i) seek to improve the skill set of graduates; (ii) emphasize Soft Skills,
(iii) refocus the assessments, teaching-learning process, and curricula away from lower-
order thinking skills, such as remembering and understanding towards higher order skills
such as analysis and creativity; and (iv) interact more with employers to understand the
particular demand for skills in that region and sector.
Research Paper III – Employability Skills – A Study on the Perception of the
Engineering Students and their Prospective Employers
Chithra. R studied the perception of Employers as well as Employees of
employability skills required for Entry level engineering graduates in multinational software
companies in Tamil Nadu, India in between December 2012 and January 2013. She
developed two questionnaires one each for the employer and employee. 25 skill sets were
identified as skill inventory. Questionnaires were filled by 90 students and 35 employers.
She found that the perceptions of the students and their employers are significantly
different. Employers give importance to personal and behavioral attributes and attitude of a
candidate whereas students give more importance to their technical skills. Also the
students who are having work experience and the students having no work experience are
having further significantly different perceptions. In studying the gap between employer and
graduates perception, the difference was found very high with respect to the importance of
skills like empathy, reliability, integrity, willingness to learn, knowledge in contemporary
6

issues and advanced computer skills. Similarly, in attributes, there was significant
difference in integrity; and in professional skills, there was significant difference found in
problem solving, creativity, customer service, knowledge in contemporary issues. Further,
the research reveals that the students having work experience are having better awareness
of the employability skills required in global market than the students having no work
experience.
This study concluded that the awareness of employability skills demanded by the
global talent market among the Indian graduates is strongly needed. The curriculum must
be updated at regular interval for catering the needs of the industry. For that industry-
academia relationship must be improved. Specific training should be provided to the
candidates for enhancing the skills and application of knowledge so that they can perform
their jobs in the best possible manner.
7

EMPLOYER DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
 Sector Specification:
Chart no.1, Employer sector specification
Sector wise percentage of the employers is shown in above figure. Approx 47% of
employers (15 in no.) were from Private Manufacturing sector and 16% (5 in no.) were
from Government Manufacturing
from Private and 6 % (2 in no.) were from Government firms.
 Size Of The Company:
Size Of the Organization No. Of Employers
Small 4
Medium 10
Large 19
Table no.2, Size of the Company
Size of the organization was based on the number of employees working in the
company. The reference range for small, medium and large organizations is as
follows:
Small: 1-49 employees
Medium: 50-249 employees
CHAPTER-3
Specification:
Chart no.1, Employer sector specification
from Government Manufacturing sector. While in Service sector 31% (10 in no.) were
from Private and 6 % (2 in no.) were from Government firms.
The Company:
No. Of Employers
4
10
19
o.2, Size of the Company
organization was based on the number of employees working in the
8
sector. While in Service sector 31% (10 in no.) were
organization was based on the number of employees working in the

Large: 250 + employees
Chart no.2, Size of the
The above figure shows that most of the organizations surveyed had more than 250
employees working with them.
 Degree of Importance for Employers to hire Graduates f
Reputed Institutes
Degree of Importance for Employers to hire
Graduates From Reputed Institutes
Very Important
Important
Rather Important
Rather Unimportant
Not important at all
Table no.3, Degree of importance for employers to hire graduates from reputed
institutes
Chart no.2, Size of the Organizations responded
employees working with them.
Importance for Employers to hire Graduates f
Reputed Institutes
Degree of Importance for Employers to hire
Graduates From Reputed Institutes No. Of Employers
22
5
6
0
0
9
Importance for Employers to hire Graduates from

Chart no.3, Degree of Importance for Employers to hire graduates from reputed institutes
Interpretation – the above Bar Chart represents
cases, it was found that it is very important
Reputed Institutes.
 Satisfaction with newly hired Graduates
Satisfaction with newly hired Graduates
Extremely
Very
Somewhat
Not Very
Not at all
Table no.4, Satisfaction with newly hired graduates
Degree of Importance for Employers to hire graduates from reputed institutes
the above Bar Chart represents that in majority i.e., 66.7% of the
very important for the employers to hire Graduates
ith newly hired Graduates
Satisfaction with newly hired Graduates No of Employers
4
7
19
3
0
Table no.4, Satisfaction with newly hired graduates
10
Degree of Importance for Employers to hire graduates from reputed institutes
in majority i.e., 66.7% of the
Graduates from

Chart no.4, Satisfaction with newly hired graduates
The above Chart represents that majority
somewhat satisfied with the newly hired graduates
 Satisfaction with newly hired graduates with respect to
 Government sector:
Chart no.5, Govt sector
no.4, Satisfaction with newly hired graduates
The above Chart represents that majority of the employers (57.6%)
with the newly hired graduates in the last one year.
Satisfaction with newly hired graduates with respect to specific sector.
Government sector:
Chart no.5, Govt sector- Satisfaction with newly hired graduates
11
(57.6%) are only
year.
specific sector.

 Private sector:
Chart no.6, Pvt sector
 Manufacturing sector:
Chart no.7, Mfg sector
Chart no.6, Pvt sector- Satisfaction with newly hired graduates
Manufacturing sector:
Chart no.7, Mfg sector- Satisfaction with newly hired graduates
12

Service sector:
Chart no.8, Service sector
 Qualities Importance for the Job
Qualities Importance for the Job
Knowledge
Skills
Personal Traits
Table no.5, Qualities Importance for the Job
The above data shows that 37.5 % of the employers responded that
the newly hired graduates is extremely important for the job. 34.4 % of the employers
found personal traits to be extremely important for successful completion of the job.
Only 25% of the employers rated skills to be extremely important for th
Chart no.8, Service sector- Satisfaction with newly hired graduates
Qualities Importance for the Job - Employer Perspective
Qualities Importance for the Job –
Extremely Very Somewhat Not Very Not at all
12 12 7 1 0
8 15 8 1 0
11 15 6 0 0
Qualities Importance for the Job - Employer Perspective
The above data shows that 37.5 % of the employers responded that knowledge of
Only 25% of the employers rated skills to be extremely important for the job.
13
Not at all
0
0
0
knowledge of
e job.

Chart no.9, Degree of Qualities Importance for the Job
Weighted Average Mean for
Knowledge
Skills
Personal Traits
Table no.6, Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Importance for the Job
Perspective
This shows that the employer
successful completion of the job. Knowledge and skills follow personal traits in that
order.
Chart no.9, Degree of Qualities Importance for the Job - Employer Perspective
Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Importance for the Job
Weighted Average Mean
26
25
27
Table no.6, Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Importance for the Job
This shows that the employers find personal traits to be most important for
14
Qualities Importance for the Job -
Table no.6, Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Importance for the Job - Employer
find personal traits to be most important for

Chart no.10, Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Importance for the Job
 Qualities Satisfaction for the Job
Qualities Satisfaction for the Job
Knowledge
Skills
Personal Traits
Table No. 7, Qualities
Although the employer found personal traits, knowledge and skills (in that order) to
be extremely important for the job, their satisfaction with the newly hired graduates
on these parameters was very low.
with the knowledge and person
6.25%.
Chart no.10, Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Importance for the Job - Employer Perspective
Qualities Satisfaction for the Job - Employer Perspective
Qualities Satisfaction for the Job –
Extremely Very Somewhat Not Very
3 10 15 4
2 8 14 8
3 12 13 4
Table No. 7, Qualities Satisfaction for the Job - Employer Perspective
on these parameters was very low. Only 9.34 %employers were extremely satisfied
with the knowledge and personal traits while on skills, the figure stood at even low of
15
Not at all
0
0
0
Only 9.34 %employers were extremely satisfied
l traits while on skills, the figure stood at even low of

Chart no.11, Degree of Qualities Satisfaction for the Job
 Weighted Average Mean for
Qualities Satisfaction for the Job
Knowledge
Skills
Personal Traits
Table No. 8, Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Satisfaction for the
On calculating the weighted average mean also it was found that satisfaction was
least on the skills sets for the newly hired engineering graduates.
Chart no.11, Degree of Qualities Satisfaction for the Job - Employer Perspective
Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Satisfaction for the Job
Qualities Satisfaction for the Job –
22
20
22
Table No. 8, Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Satisfaction for the
least on the skills sets for the newly hired engineering graduates.
16
Qualities Satisfaction for the Job -
Table No. 8, Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Satisfaction for the Job -

Chart no.12, Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Satisfaction forChart no.12, Weighted Average Mean for Qualities Satisfaction for the Job - Employer Perspective
17

Degree of Importance and Satisfaction of Individual Key skills/ Personality
traits for the job
1. Knowledge of Subject
Knowledge of subject
Importance
Extremely 13
Very 13
Somewhat 6
Not very 0
Not at all 0
Table no.9, Importance and Satisfaction
Chart no.13, Importance-Knowledge of subject
The above pie charts show that although knowledge
extremely or very important by majority of the employers, the satisfaction level on
this criterion was not very good. Majority of the employers were only somewhat
satisfied with their employees as far as knowledge of subject
Importance Satisfaction
1
11
17
3
0
Table no.9, Importance and Satisfaction- Knowledge of subject
Knowledge of subject Chart no.14, Satisfaction- Knowledge of subject
The above pie charts show that although knowledge of subject is considered to be
satisfied with their employees as far as knowledge of subject is concerned.
18
of subject is considered to be
is concerned.

2. Knowledge of contemporary issues
Knowledge of contemporary issues
Importance
Extremely 6
Very 15
Somewhat 9
Not very 2
Not at all 0
Chart no.15, Importance-Knowledge of contemporary issues Chart
contemporary issues
The above pie charts show that although knowledge of contemporary issues is
considered very important by the
very dismal. Only 9 out of 32 (28%) employers are satisfied with their employees on
this skill.
1
8
16
7
0
Table no.10, Importance and Satisfaction- Knowledge of contemporary issues
Knowledge of contemporary issues Chart no.16, Satisfaction
considered very important by the employer, the satisfaction level on this criterion is
19
6, Satisfaction-Knowledge of
employer, the satisfaction level on this criterion is

3. Knowledge of computers
Knowledge of computers
Importance
Extremely 16
Very 9
Somewhat 5
Not very 2
Not at all 0
Chart no.17, Importance-Knowledge of computers Chart no.18
computers
With respect to the knowledge of
be extremely important, only 19% were extremely satisfied. 50% of the employers
were either somewhat or not very satisfied with their employees on this criterion.
Knowledge of computers
6
10
13
3
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Knowledge of computers
Knowledge of computers Chart no.18, Satisfaction-
With respect to the knowledge of computers, while 50% employers considered it to
20
-Knowledge of
computers, while 50% employers considered it to

4. Ability to apply knowledge
Ability to apply knowledge
Importance
Extremely 8
Very 14
Somewhat 10
Not very 0
Not at all 0
Chart no. 19, Importance-Ability to apply Knowledge Chart
With respect to ability to apply knowledge, 68.75% employers found it to be
extremely or very important for successful completion of the job, however, only
43.75% were extremely or very satisfied on this criterion, leaving a lot of scope for
improvement.
apply knowledge
3
11
13
5
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Ability to apply Knowledge
Ability to apply Knowledge Chart no. 20, Satisfaction-Ability to apply
Knowledge
ly or very satisfied on this criterion, leaving a lot of scope for
21
Ability to apply
ly or very satisfied on this criterion, leaving a lot of scope for

5. Ability to analyse
Ability to analyse
Importance
Extremely 9
Very 15
Somewhat 7
Not very 1
Not at all 0
Chart no. 21, Importance- Ability to analyse Chart
The above bar charts show that with respect to ability to analyse, the skill was
considered extremely or very
satisfaction level (extremely/very) on this criterion was as low as 25%.
Ability to analyse
2
6
19
5
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Ability to analyse
Ability to analyse Chart no. 22, Satisfaction- Ability to analyse
considered extremely or very important by 75% of the employers. However, the
satisfaction level (extremely/very) on this criterion was as low as 25%.
22
Ability to analyse
important by 75% of the employers. However, the

6. Ability to solve problems
Ability to solve problems
Importance
Extremely 9
Very 15
Somewhat 7
Not very 1
Not at all 0
Chart no. 23, Importance-Ability to solve problems Chart no. 2
The situation was equally dismal as far as
is clear from the above bar chart. There is an acute need to impart more training to
the engineering graduates on these skill sets.
3
5
18
6
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Ability to solve problems
Ability to solve problems Chart no. 24, Satisfaction-Ability to solve problems
The situation was equally dismal as far as ability to solve problems is concerned as
the engineering graduates on these skill sets.
23
ability to solve problems is concerned as

7. Creativity and innovation
Creativity and innovation
Importance
Extremely 8
Very 16
Somewhat 7
Not very 1
Not at all 0
Chart no. 25, Importance-Creativity and Innovations Chart no. 2
Innovations
Creativity and innovation is one skill set, where not only the satisfaction level of the
employer with his employees was 25% but also, in 34% responses, the employers
were not very satisfied, thereby reflecting the skill gap.
Creativity and innovation
1
7
13
11
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Creativity and innovations
Creativity and Innovations Chart no. 26, Satisfaction-
were not very satisfied, thereby reflecting the skill gap.
24
-Creativity and

8. Entrepreneurial skills
Entrepreneurial skills
Importance
Extremely 5
Very 9
Somewhat 14
Not very 4
Not at all 0
Chart no. 27, Importance- Entrepreneurial skills Chart no. 2
In case of entrepreneurial skills, a similar situation prevailed. 41%of the employers
were not very satisfied with the employees on this skill set. Only 22% employers
were extremely or very satisfied with the newly recruited engineering graduates on
this criterion. However, a major difference, as compared to creativity and innovation,
was that less than 50% (43%) employers found entrepreneurial skills to be extremely
or very important for successful completion of the job.
1
6
12
13
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Entrepreneurial skills
Entrepreneurial skills Chart no. 28, Satisfaction- Entrepreneurial skills
or very satisfied with the newly recruited engineering graduates on
t for successful completion of the job.
25
or very satisfied with the newly recruited engineering graduates on

9. Interpersonal skills
Interpersonal skills
Importance
Extremely 3
Very 23
Somewhat 5
Not very 1
Not at all 0
Chart no. 29, Importance- Interpersonal skills Chart
81.25% of the employers consider interpersonal skills to be extremely or very
important, while the satisfaction level (extremely/very) was only
employers were not very satisfied on this criterion while 34% were only somewhat
satisfied.
3
11
11
7
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Interpersonal skills
Interpersonal skills Chart no. 30, Satisfaction- Interpersonal skills
important, while the satisfaction level (extremely/very) was only 43.75%. 22%
26
43.75%. 22%

10.Written communication
Written communication
Importance
Extremely 11
Very 14
Somewhat 7
Not very 0
Not at all 0
Chart no.31, Importance-Written communications Chart no. 32, Satisfaction
Similarly, with respect to the written communication skills, 78% employ
somewhat or not very satisfied with the newly hired engineering graduates, thereby
reflecting the need to improve upon the skill set
Written communication
1
6
16
9
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Written communication
Written communications Chart no. 32, Satisfaction-Written communications
Similarly, with respect to the written communication skills, 78% employers were only
reflecting the need to improve upon the skill set.
27
Written communications
ers were only

11.Verbal Communication
Verbal Communication
Importance
Extremely 9
Very 17
Somewhat 5
Not very 1
Not at all 0
Chart no. 33, Importance-Verbal communications Chart no. 3
The situation is somewhat better with
81.25% employers, 50% were extremely or very satisfied with this skill set among
freshly hired engineering graduates.
12.Willingness to learn
Verbal Communication
3
13
8
8
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Verbal communication
Verbal communications Chart no. 34, Satisfaction-Verbal communications
The situation is somewhat better with respect to verbal communication where out of
freshly hired engineering graduates.
28
Verbal communications
respect to verbal communication where out of

Willingness to learn
Importance
Extremely 16
Very 11
Somewhat 5
Not very 0
Not at all 0
Chart no. 35, Importance-Willingness to learn
Willingness to learn was also one of the skill set which was rated as extremely or
very important by large number of the employers (84.4%). 50% of the employers
were extremely or very satisfied on this skill set. Only 12.5% employers were not
very satisfied with their employees on
4
12
12
4
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Willingness to learn
Willingness to learn Chart no. 36, Satisfaction-Willingness to learn
also one of the skill set which was rated as extremely or
very satisfied with their employees on this criterion.
29
also one of the skill set which was rated as extremely or

13.Team Work
Team Work
Importance
Extremely 14
Very 11
Somewhat 5
Not very 2
Not at all 0
Chart no. 37, Importance-Teamwork
Team work was one trait where a large number of employers were very or extremely
satisfied (56%) with the newly recruited engineering graduates while 78% considered
it to be extremely or very important fo
14.Flexibility
3
15
6
8
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Teamwork
Teamwork Chart no. 38, Satisfaction-Teamwork
it to be extremely or very important for successful completion of the job.
30

Flexibility
Importance
Extremely 8
Very 17
Somewhat 7
Not very 0
Not at all 0
Chart no. 39, Importance-Flexibility
On this personality trait, 78% of the employers felt it was extremely or very important
to be flexible in the work settings, however, only 47% were extremely or very
satisfied with respect to it.
4
11
13
4
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Flexibility
Flexibility Chart no. 40, Satisfaction-Flexibility
31

15.Reliability
Reliability
Importance
Extremely 10
Very 16
Somewhat 5
Not very 1
Not at all 0
Chart no. 41, Importance-Reliability
With respect to reliability, while 81.25% employers considered it to be an extremely
or very important personality trait, only 47% we
criterion. Majority of the employers (53%) were either somewhat or not very satisfied
as far as reliability of the newly recruited engineers is concerned.
16.Integrity
4
11
14
3
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Reliability
Reliability Chart no. 42, Satisfaction-Reliability
or very important personality trait, only 47% were extremely or very satisfied on this
. Majority of the employers (53%) were either somewhat or not very satisfied
as far as reliability of the newly recruited engineers is concerned.
32
satisfied on this
. Majority of the employers (53%) were either somewhat or not very satisfied

Integrity
Importance
Extremely 13
Very 13
Somewhat 6
Not very 0
Not at all 0
Chart no. 43, Importance-Integrity
While 41% of the employers perceived integrity to
trait to be considered while hiring fresh engineering graduates, only 6% were
extremely satisfied on it.
17.Self discipline
2
15
12
3
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Integrity
Chart no. 44, Satisfaction-Integrity
While 41% of the employers perceived integrity to be extremely important personality
33
be extremely important personality

Self discipline
Importance
Extremely 11
Very 17
Somewhat 4
Not very 0
Not at all 0
Chart no. 45, Importance-Self discipline
Self discipline was one personality trait where, while 87.5% of the
was extremely or very important, only 37.5% of the employers were extremely or
very satisfied. This shows the lack of self discipline in freshly hired engineering
graduates.
18.Self motivated
Self discipline
4
8
15
5
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Self- discipline
Self discipline Chart no. 46, Satisfaction-Self discipline
Self discipline was one personality trait where, while 87.5% of the employers felt it
34
employers felt it

Self motivated
Importance
Extremely 13
Very 14
Somewhat 5
Not very 0
Not at all 0
Chart no. 47, Importance-Self motivated
84.4% employers considered self motivation to be an extremely or very important
personality trait required for successful completion of the job, however, only 41%
were extremely or very satisfied with respect to this personality trait. Almost half of
the employers were only somewhat satisfied as far as self motivation of the
employees is concerned.
Self motivated
5
8
15
4
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Self motivated
Self motivated Chart no. 48, Satisfaction-Self motivated
employers considered self motivation to be an extremely or very important
yers were only somewhat satisfied as far as self motivation of the
35
employers considered self motivation to be an extremely or very important
yers were only somewhat satisfied as far as self motivation of the

19.Empathy
Empathy
Importance
Extremely 4
Very 19
Somewhat 9
Not very 0
Not at all 0
Chart no. 49, Importance-Empathy
Although 72% employers felt that the newly recruited engineers should have an
empathetic attitude at work place, 41% were
this personality trait.
1
12
15
4
0
, Importance and Satisfaction- Empathy
Chart no. 50, Satisfaction-Empathy
empathetic attitude at work place, 41% were actually extremely or very satisfied on
36
actually extremely or very satisfied on

 Key skills/ personality traits that are lacking in engineering graduates as per
Employer’s perception
Chart no.51, KSAs which are most lacking and need to improve in engineering
As shown in chart above, According to the Employers the most lacking skill is
written and verbal Communication
Creativity and innovativeness
its application and skill development
development etc are equally important to be improved at third priority. Later on
Good attitude such as being a good listener, service oriented attitude, Positivity
and Personality traits in general
graduates. Some other KSAs observed by the employers to be improved are
skills like, Data interpretation and analysis, Logical reasoning and problem
solving ability, Knowledge on contemporary issues, knowledge of ind
PR skills like Self management, time management, self discipline, Interpersonal
skills, teamwork, Integrity, and Entrepreneurial skills and Documentation.
Key skills/ personality traits that are lacking in engineering graduates as per
Employer’s perception
Chart no.51, KSAs which are most lacking and need to improve in engineering graduates
written and verbal Communication. The second most important skill lacking is
Creativity and innovativeness. Whereas Technical knowledge with ability of
and skill development such as computer literacy, software
such as being a good listener, service oriented attitude, Positivity
in general have found to be lacking in engineering
solving ability, Knowledge on contemporary issues, knowledge of ind
37
Key skills/ personality traits that are lacking in engineering graduates as per
graduates
. The second most important skill lacking is
Technical knowledge with ability of
such as computer literacy, software
such as being a good listener, service oriented attitude, Positivity
have found to be lacking in engineering
solving ability, Knowledge on contemporary issues, knowledge of industry, HR-

 Corrective actions that
improve the employability of their graduates
Chart no.52, Actions should be taken by higher institutes as per employer’s perception
Above graph shows the perception of the employers for corrective actions to
be taken by the higher education institutes in order
their graduates. 41% employers feel the engineering curriculum courses need to be
more relevant to their needs at first preference. Secondly more practical exposure
need to be included in study period, which helps the studen
work scenario in industries and getting knowledge about industries. Actual
application and implementation of their conceptual knowledge can be learnt
effectively only by practical exposure. Third preference is to include sector sp
work placements as an integral part of the study program as 23 % importance is
given to this suggestion.
 Other Suggestions discussed by the Employers during the interviews in
order to improve the employability of Engineering graduates:
 Up gradation of Content of Curriculum:
skills are the basic obstacles in making the engineering graduates able to
deliver in current global market trends. The theories in the books and being
taught in classrooms extremely need to be upg
development. The classroom teaching should include the
solved which are obtained from various organisations and are based on
current scenario in the industries. Same approach should be taken for project
work also. Latest technologies and skills development has to be incorporated
in curriculum. Same is the case with Laboratories.
 Updated Engineering labs
and instruments to provide the students the real exposure of p
Computer labs also need to be updated,
make the students connected with global innovations and better learning.
that should be taken by higher institutions in order to
the employability of their graduates.
Chart no.52, Actions should be taken by higher institutes as per employer’s perception
be taken by the higher education institutes in order to improve the employability of
need to be included in study period, which helps the student be familiar with actual
effectively only by practical exposure. Third preference is to include sector sp
Other Suggestions discussed by the Employers during the interviews in
order to improve the employability of Engineering graduates:
of Content of Curriculum: Obsolete knowledge and technical
taught in classrooms extremely need to be upgraded with global need and
development. The classroom teaching should include the Case studies
so. Latest technologies and skills development has to be incorporated
in curriculum. Same is the case with Laboratories.
Updated Engineering labs: The labs need to be having latest technologies
and instruments to provide the students the real exposure of practical work.
also need to be updated, Online classes and e
38
should be taken by higher institutions in order to
to improve the employability of
t be familiar with actual
effectively only by practical exposure. Third preference is to include sector specific
Other Suggestions discussed by the Employers during the interviews in
Obsolete knowledge and technical
raded with global need and
Case studies to be
so. Latest technologies and skills development has to be incorporated
The labs need to be having latest technologies
ractical work.
Online classes and e-library can

 Good & Dedicated faculty members: As we improve the curriculum and
labs, the delivery of these benefits can be possible only by the faculty
members who are familiar with these latest changes and innovations and
dedicated to teach the students as well. Then only the purpose of these all
can be achieved.
 Interaction with Employers on business-related services should be
provided by the university.
 A Business Observatory to carry out studies on the requirements of local
businesses, the skill profiles required by them in their hiring trends and to
monitor the characteristics of graduates, both employed as well as
unemployed.
 Management and Market exposure subjects should be included as an
important part of the curriculum that can provide the knowledge of current
market trends and also improve managerial capabilities and set of behavioural
characteristics in graduates. The students need to learn Organisation
management. Training in Planning, coordination and organization, oral and
written Communication skills, Conflicts resolution and Negotiation skills should
be provided to the graduates during their study courses.
 Overall Personality Traits should be improved by providing various training
programs and seminars periodically on Motivation, Willingness to learn,
developing Good attitude and values such as loyalty, honesty, decision-
making, taking responsibilities, dedication, problem solving and written
communication etc. Socialisation in Graduates is very important for
improving the personal values and interpersonal skills. This improves the
personal values, positive attitude, good interpersonal skills, feeling to work in
a team, integrity, empathy, sensitivity, taking initiative etc. Socialization can be
improved in graduates by including Sports and other extra curricular activities
in regular activities in colleges. Further Trainings in dealing with others:
Team work, taking initiatives, leadership and other interpersonal skills should
be provided during the graduation courses.
 Job centre within the University to match graduates with the employers.
 Labour tackling ability, this is demanded and recommended by the
employers of manufacturing sectors where Engineers have to tackle the
labourers on daily basis.
39

Chart no.53, Recommendations for Institutions by the EmployersChart no.53, Recommendations for Institutions by the Employers
40

EMPLOYEE DATA ANAYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
 Employee Qualification
Branch No of Employees
EC 55
IT 36
MECH 36
CIVIL 26
CE 18
EE 14
CHEMICAL 17
IC
Table No.28, Employees Qualification
Chart No. 54, Employee Qualification
It shows specialization of the engineering graduates in various
CHAPTER-4
Qualification
No of Employees
55
36
36
26
18
14
17
1
, Employees Qualification
Chart No. 54, Employee Qualification
It shows specialization of the engineering graduates in various branches.
41
branches.

 Employee Sector Specification
Data was collected from 54
GIL, GIPL, GSPC LNG,
19 organizations were
from service sector. This implies that the data is fairly representative of both the
private sector and government sector as well as both manufacturing and service
sector.
Sector No. of Organizations
Govt 7
Private 47
Table No. 29, Sector Specification
Chart No. 55, Sector Specification
Table No. 30, Type of Organization
Sector No of Organizations
Manufacturing 19
Service 30
Education 4
Sector Specification
was collected from 54 organizations in total. 7 were govt organisations
GIL, GIPL, GSPC LNG, ISRO, PRL, ONGC, GTU and 47 were private companies.
organizations were from manufacturing sector, 4 from education sector, and 30
. This implies that the data is fairly representative of both the
No. of Organizations
, Sector Specification
Chart No. 55, Sector Specification
Table No. 30, Type of Organization
42
Organizations
govt organisations viz. –
private companies.
from education sector, and 30
. This implies that the data is fairly representative of both the

Chart No. 56, Percentage of Organizations in
 Duration And Experie
Duration No of Employees
1- 3 43
4- 6 62
7- 12 84
13- 18 14
Table No.31, Duration And Experience of Employees
Chart No. 57, Experience of Employees
Approx 41% of the employees were having work experience of 7
were with 4-6 months experience, 22 % were of 1
employees were having 13
employees had work experience of 7
Chart No. 56, Percentage of Organizations in Manufacturing, Service and Education Sector
Duration And Experience of Employees
No of Employees
, Duration And Experience of Employees
Chart No. 57, Experience of Employees
41% of the employees were having work experience of 7-12 months, 32 %
6 months experience, 22 % were of 1-3 months and rest 5% of
employees were having 13-18 months of work experience. Thus, majority of the
employees had work experience of 7-12 months.
43
Manufacturing, Service and Education Sector
12 months, 32 %
3 months and rest 5% of
Thus, majority of the

 Recruitment Selection Criteria
Source of Selection
College Grading
Academic Qualifications
Aptitude Test
Personality Test
GD
Interviews
Others
Table no.32, Recruitment Selection Criteria
Chart No.58, Recruitment Selection Criteria
As shown in above figure, maximum priority
recruitment selection.
Academic Qualifications
criteria. Other criteria were College grading, GD and Personality test.
 No of Interviews Attended
No of Interviews
Attended No. of Employees
1- 3
4- 6
7- 12
13- 18
Table no. 33, No of Interviews Attended by the Employees
Selection Criteria
No of
Employees
45
68
96
28
37
112
9
, Recruitment Selection Criteria
Chart No.58, Recruitment Selection Criteria
As shown in above figure, maximum priority was given to
Second priority was given to Aptitude Test
Academic Qualifications were found to be the third very important selection
Attended
No. of Employees
167
26
10
0
, No of Interviews Attended by the Employees
44
given to Interviews in
Aptitude Test and the
were found to be the third very important selection

Chart No. 59, Number of Interviews attended by the Employees
It shows the number of interviews faced by the engineering graduates
employed. Most of the employees (167 in no.) faced 1
their first job.
 Importance of the Qualities for the Successful Performance in the job
QUALITITES IMPORTANCE
Knowledge
Technical skills
Problem Solving /Lateral Thinking
Critical & Analytical Reasoning
Interpersonal & Communication
Skills
Emotional
Intelligence/Aptitude/Passion
Table no. 34, Importance of the Qualities for the Successful Performance in the job
Chart No. 59, Number of Interviews attended by the Employees
nterviews faced by the engineering graduates before
Most of the employees (167 in no.) faced 1-3 interviews before getting
the Qualities for the Successful Performance in the job
Extremely Very Somewhat
Not
Very
65 93 40
77 103 20
Problem Solving /Lateral Thinking 63 118 20
Critical & Analytical Reasoning 42 113 46
76 94 30
Intelligence/Aptitude/Passion 31 107 53
Importance of the Qualities for the Successful Performance in the job
45
before getting
3 interviews before getting
the Qualities for the Successful Performance in the job
Not
Very
Not at
all
5 0
3 0
2 0
2 0
3 0
11 0

Chart No.60, Importance of the Qualities for Successful Performance of the
The above Chart shows that a large chunk of engineers felt it was
important to have knowledge of the subject. However, they rated other skill sets to
be very important for successful performance of the job.
Chart No.60, Importance of the Qualities for Successful Performance of the Job
shows that a large chunk of engineers felt it was
to have knowledge of the subject. However, they rated other skill sets to
for successful performance of the job.
46
shows that a large chunk of engineers felt it was extremely
to have knowledge of the subject. However, they rated other skill sets to

Qualities Importance
Knowledge
Skills
Personal Traits
Table no. 35, Importance of the Qualities for the Successful Performance in the
job - Weighted Average Mean
Chart No. 61, Importance of Qualities for Successful
Average Mean
The above Pie Chart shows that the employees feel that knowledge is the most
important criteria for successful performance of the job follwed by skills and
personality traits.
Average Mean
169
167
153
Importance of the Qualities for the Successful Performance in the
Chart No. 61, Importance of Qualities for Successful Completion of the Job
47
Importance of the Qualities for the Successful Performance in the job - Weighted
Importance of the Qualities for the Successful Performance in the
Completion of the Job-Weighted

 Confidence on the Qualities
explains the level of confidence amongst the newly recruited engineers on the
Knowledge, Skills and Attributes (KSA) parameters. They first had to rank the
importance of these para
were asked to rate their confidence level on the same KSA set.
QUALITIES CONFIDENCE
Knowledge
Technical skills
Problem Solving /Lateral Thinking
Critical & Analytical Reasoning
Skills
Emotional
Intelligence/Aptitude/Passion
Table no. 36, Confidence on the Qualities for the successful
Chart No. 62, Confidence on the Qualities for Successful Performance of the Job
 Employees Qualities Confidence Weighted Average Mean
Qualities Confidence
Knowledge
Skills
Personal Traits
Table no. 37, Employees Qualities Confidence Weighted Average Mean
ualities for the successful performance in the job
importance of these parameters for successful completion of the job and then they
were asked to rate their confidence level on the same KSA set.
Extremely Very Somewhat
Not
Very
16 103 71
26 129 47
Solving /Lateral Thinking 26 106 69
Critical & Analytical Reasoning 25 100 74
45 109 44
Intelligence/Aptitude/Passion 22 122 52
Confidence on the Qualities for the successful performance in the job
Chart No. 62, Confidence on the Qualities for Successful Performance of the Job
Employees Qualities Confidence Weighted Average Mean
152
155
154
Employees Qualities Confidence Weighted Average Mean
48
for the successful performance in the job- This
meters for successful completion of the job and then they
Not
Very
Not at
all
11 2
1 0
1 1
4 0
5 0
7 0
performance in the job

Chart No. 63, Employees Qualities Confidence
As regards the level of confidence on the same skill sets, majority of them felt very
somewhat confident, while a very few number felt extremely confident on those skill sets.
Thus, while they thought knowledge to be most important, they were least confident on it.
Similarly, while they rated personality traits to be least important, th
most confident on them.
Chart No. 63, Employees Qualities Confidence-Weighted Average Mean
As regards the level of confidence on the same skill sets, majority of them felt very
Similarly, while they rated personality traits to be least important, they were found to be
49
As regards the level of confidence on the same skill sets, majority of them felt very or
ey were found to be

 How to acquire the skills that the engineering graduates are lacking
The most common responses to these questions were:
Through continuous practice and learning through experience
Taking help from seniors and colleagues
Attending various training programmes
Acquiring technical skills and industrial knowledge
Acquiring communication skills
Table no. 38, Most common response
Chart No.64, How to Acquire the Skills
How to acquire the skills that the engineering graduates are lacking
The most common responses to these questions were:
Through continuous practice and learning through experience 35
help from seniors and colleagues 35
Attending various training programmes 25
Acquiring technical skills and industrial knowledge 14
Acquiring communication skills 15
ost common responses
Chart No.64, How to Acquire the Skills Lacking in Graduates
50
How to acquire the skills that the engineering graduates are lacking in
35
35
25
14
15

 Other responses were:
 Reading and taking help of self help books: Some of the employees
responded that taking help from the reading material available in the company
and referring to self help books helped them in acquiring the skills they lacked.
 Learning material provided by the company: In some of the cases the
company itself provided some reference material for better understanding in
the work setting.
 Taking help of internet: Some of the fresh engineering graduates took help of
the internet to solve the problems that they initially faced in their jobs.
 Attempting problem solving quizzes: The newly hired employees also
practiced on problem solving quizzes in their free time so that they could then
use the skills acquired in their work settings.
 Getting enrolled in online certification courses: Some of the engineering
graduates got themselves enrolled in online certification courses to get trained
on desired skill sets.
 Attending seminars: Attending seminars on relevant topics also helped some
of them to get a better understanding of the job requirements.
 Being more self aware: This helped them in identifying the problem areas and
where there is scope for improvement.
 Areas needed to be included in the university curriculum to make it more
market worthy
 Updation of the curriculum and practical orientation: Most of the engineering
graduates felt that there needs to be more emphasis on practical training than
theoretical knowledge which should also include field training. A hands-on
approach to teaching rather than curriculum target should be adopted in
engineering colleges. There is a requirement to upgrade the technology part in the
curriculum. New techniques and processes need to be included in the curriculum
for engineering degree programs. There is also a need to design the curriculum
according to the market requirements. The employees also responded that there
is a need for lab upgradation and software development training module to be
included in the curriculum.
 Increased industrial exposure: The employees opined that there should be more
lectures on the basics of industrial management and industrial knowledge.
Industrial visits should be organized wherein experts’ sessions by industry experts
can be held to give them first hand information. Case studies from industries
should be included in the curriculum. Before the final placements, internships with
the industries should be done so that they get a fair idea of the work environment.
A basic knowledge about the government set up should also be provided to them
during the engineering program.
51

 Training on communication and soft skills: The employees also suggested that
there should be more training on communication, interpersonal and soft skills.
Some more sessions should be kept for personality development and training in
management skills.
 Change in examination pattern: Exams should be based on understanding
rather than rote memory and there should be aptitude based exam pattern. More
short assignments should be given to bring greater conceptual clarity.
 Mock interviews: To improve the chances of fresh engineering graduates of
getting selected in job interviews, the placement cells of the engineering institutes
should organize mock interviews.
52

CHAPTER-5
SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS AND OBSERVATIONS
1. Employer Perspective:
 Overall satisfaction of the Employers with the newly recruited engineering
graduates is at Somewhat level.
 While bifurcating the Satisfaction level in different sectors, it shows that the
43% Government sector employers are Satisfied and 28%Private sector
employers are satisfied.
 Similarly the Satisfaction level varies in manufacturing and service sectors,
as in manufacturing sectors employers satisfaction level is 35%, whereas in
service sector it is 25%.
 So overall, the employability skills in engineering graduates are lacking and
there is a need for significant improvements.
 As per the data collected from the employers, the three most significant
skills/traits identified as most desirable while recruiting engineering
graduates are willingness to learn, self discipline and self motivation.
 The satisfaction level was found to be highest on teamwork, willingness to
learn and verbal communication.
 The least significant skill/trait as identified by the employer is
Entrepreneurial skills.
 The satisfaction level was found to be least on written communication,
ability to analyse and problem solving skills.
 Written communication skills are lacking most in engineering graduates.
 Technical knowledge with its application and Skill development are equally
deficient in these graduates as they move into actual practical work.
 Obsolete Technologies, Content of the curriculum and Teaching methods
are the major reasons for Employability gap amongst graduates. The
present curriculum is not significantly satisfying the global needs and also
the local employer and industrial needs.
 Practical exposure with applied knowledge and learning is not up to the
mark in the university institutions programs.
 Personality traits are also equally important for better performance at
workplace.
 Lack of management skills and other soft skills exposure is found to be the
reason for the same according to most of the employers view.
53

2. Employee Perspective:
 Maximum priority was given to Interviews in recruitment selection.
 Employees feel that knowledge is the most important criteria for successful
performance of the job followed by skills and personality traits.
 Technical skills and problem solving are considered to be very important by
the employees for successful performance.
 Employees were most confident on technical skills and emotional
intelligence.
 They were least confident on critical and analytical reasoning.
The engineering graduates suggested the following ways to acquire the skills
that they are lacking in:
 Through continuous practice and learning through experience
 Taking help from seniors and colleagues
 Attending various training programmes
 Acquiring technical skills and industrial knowledge
 Acquiring communication skills.
Areas identified by the employees that need to be included in the university
curriculum to make it more market worthy are
 Updation of the curriculum and practical orientation: More Practical
Exposure should be provided to the students for gaining the industrial
knowledge and real work experience.
 Increased industrial exposure
 Training on communication and soft skills
 Change in examination pattern
 Mock interviews
3. Gap between Employer and Employee Perspective
 The weighted average mean of the importance of qualities, from employer’s
perspective viz-a-viz employees’ perspective, revealed that while the
employers perceived personal traits to be most important for successful
completion of job, employees felt that knowledge was most important.
Similarly, when satisfaction and confidence of the employers and
employees was measured respectively, the weighted average mean
disclosed that while employers were satisfied with Knowledge and
Personal Traits, employees felt most confident on Skills.
54

4. Others:
 Most of the Employers observed that as the employees gain work
experience above one year then only they become able to exactly
identify their KSA areas need to be improved and by what efforts they
can improve their performance. So the experience criteria for the
employees suggested by the employers was 1-1.5 years.
 Engineering students who are hired in the government sectors are
having very low willingness to learn and lack of motivation observed by
the employers.
55

Recommendations
Corrective actions that should be taken by higher institutions in order to
improve the employability of their graduates as suggested by employers are as
follows: (i) 41% employers feel the engineering curriculum courses need to be
more relevant to their needs. (ii) More practical exposure needs to be included
(iii) To include sector specific work placements as an integral part of the study
program.
The engineering graduates suggested the following ways to acquire the
skills that they are lacking in (i) Through continuous practice and learning through
experience (ii) Taking help from seniors and colleagues (iii) Attending various
training programmes (iv) Acquiring technical skills and industrial knowledge (v)
Acquiring communication skills.
Areas identified by the employees that need to be included in the
university curriculum to make it more market worthy are (i) Updation of the
curriculum and practical orientation (ii) Increased industrial exposure (iii) Training
on communication and soft skills (iv) Change in examination pattern (v) Mock
interviews.
In nutshell, the following recommendations emerged
 Suggestion for more focus upon industrial training and more industry aspects
oriented projects
 Practical training including Industrial visits
 Designing the curriculum according to current market needs and problems
 Focus on Soft skills like interpersonal skills and communication skills
 Teaching faculty should update their subject knowledge with current scenario
in industry
 Making e-learning and online libraries available
 Interactions with industry specific people
To summarise we can say, that there is employability gap among the fresh
engineering graduates and there is a need to reduce this gap. It can be done by
focusing not only on the quantity but also quality of the education in the ever
mushrooming engineering institutes. The faculties of these institutes should be
well versed with the latest technological advancements and there should be due
emphasis on periodic revision of the course content to make it more relevant to
the market needs. Universities should developed new standards for engineering
faculty appointments emphasising experience as practicing engineers and create
new development programmes to support the professional growth of the
engineering faculty.
56

More practical orientation is what is desired by the engineering students that
they find lacking in the present set up. In addition to delivering engineering
principles, engineering schools must teach engineering students to think
analytically, define feasible problems from ambiguous situations, integrate across
multiple technical and non technical disciplines, collaborate within global teams,
and adopt an entrepreneurial mind set. Similarly, due emphasis should also be
laid on acquisition of interpersonal and communication skills during the four year
degree program. Student evaluation should focus on demonstration of real world
competencies rather than tests of theory and exercises containing sterile
contrived problems sets. All these steps would increase the satisfaction level of
the employers to a great extent and thereby reduce the employability gap.
57

REFERENCES
 Aspiring Minds’ National Employability Report – Engineering, 2011 and 2014
 Education, Employment and Graduate Employability, Jane Andrews, Astron
University, September 2007
 Employability in higher education: what it is - what it is not, Mantz Yorke,
Learning and Employability
 Employability and Skill Set of Newly Graduated Engineers in India, Andreas
Blom, World Bank, Nov 1, 2010
 Employability Skills- A Study on the Perception of the Engineering Students
and their Prospective Employer, Chithra R., Global Journal of Management
and Business Studies, Vol.III, 2013
 Employers’ perception on engineering, information and communication
technology (ICT) students’ employability skills, Mohd Shamsuri Md Saad,
Global Journal of Engineering Eduacation, Vol.15, No.1, 2013
 English for Engineering Graduates to enhance Employability Skills,
International Journal on English Language and Literature, Vol.2, Issue 1
 Enhancing individual employability: the perspective of engineering graduates,
Staffan Nilsson, Education + Training, Vol. 52, Issue 6/7, 2010
 Evaluating Employability Skills: Employer and Student Perceptions, Nurul
Hana, Vol.15, July 2010
 Improving Students’ Employability, R. Creasey, Engineering Education, Vol.8,
Issue 1, July 2013
 India’s educational awakening, The Financial Express, February 10, 2014
 Need to Focus on Developing Employability Skills in our Engineering
Graduates, Dr G. R. Sinha, India Education Review.com
 Sustainable Employability Skills for Engineering Professionals, V Sarvana,
The Indian Review of World Literature in English, Vol.5, No. II – July 2009
 The Economic Times, June 25, 2012
 The skill development landscape in India and implementing quality skill
training, FICCI ICRA, Management Consulting Services Limited, 2002
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