Campus placements in Ernakulam engineering colleges witness decline, ETEducation
Kochi: Campus placements across engineering colleges in Ernakulam witnessed a marginal decline this year, reflecting a wider slowdown in hiring of fresh graduates by major firms. While traditional engineering streams such as mechanical, electrical and civil largely maintained steady placement numbers, computer science-related disciplines — typically the most sought-after — experienced a more pronounced dip.
According to placement officials, the lower placement percentages are partly a result of engineering colleges in the district increasing their intake, particularly in computer science and allied subjects. With more batches now graduating from these programmes, competition for a limited number of jobs intensified, directly affecting placement ratios.
Placement officer at Federal Institute of Science and Technology (Fisat) Bejoy Varghese said IT companies have become “choosy” in campus recruitments this year, focusing heavily on skill-based evaluation. “IT firms are prioritizing candidates who can perform strongly in their tests. Students securing offers of Rs 5 lakh packages are now expected to clear assessments meant for Rs 7 lakh roles,” he said.
He added that the post-pandemic surge in startup hiring — which temporarily boosted placements — has now cooled.
College representatives in the district also noted that the expansion of computer science batches across institutions indirectly kept demand steady in core engineering branches. With intake numbers in mechanical, civil and electrical engineering remaining similar to previous years, industries seeking fresh engineering talent in these fields reported shortages of qualified candidates.
Jose Mathew, who oversees placements at Albertian Institute of Science and Technology (Aisat), said traditional engineering fields continue to offer consistent opportunities. “There is significant demand for mechanical, electrical and civil engineering graduates. However, salaries have not risen in proportion to demand. Higher packages are still mostly secured by students from computer science disciplines,” he said.
At Model Engineering College, Ernakulam, placement numbers also reflect the downturn. Placement officer Aparna Devi noted that a major recruiting company that hired 42 students last year has taken only 12 this year. “Perhaps due to the increased use of artificial intelligence (AI), companies do not require as many employees as before. Additionally, we added two new batches this year, which has increased the number of students competing for placements,” she said.
Engineering colleges in the district remain hopeful that the upcoming recruitment cycle beginning in April 2026 will bring better outcomes for graduating students, especially as companies recalibrate hiring needs following the current slowdown.
In contrast to the engineering colleges in Ernakulam, officials from Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) noted that the campus recruitments have been steady this year without significant decline in hiring in comparison to previous years.
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