Placement officers across engineering colleges have significantly tightened verification processes for companies participating in campus hiring following a series of alleged fraudulent recruitment drives and job scams targeting their students. Institutions are now conducting more rigorous background checks, including verifying company registration, client credentials, and office locations.
Increased Vigilance in Campus Placements
Professor Anuradha Jadhav, placement officer at the Pune District Education Association's College of Engineering, explained that companies typically begin approaching colleges for placement-related requests from December each year. She noted that repeat companies often conduct internships in the third year before placements, which helps assess their genuineness. However, with the rise in scams, additional precautions are necessary.
Professor SN Dhole, training and placements officer at Matsyodari Shikshan Sanstha's College of Engineering and Technology in Jalna, emphasized the need for extreme vigilance before allowing companies on campus. He stated, "We have started checking on forums and internal social media groups if a new company comes for recruitment. Only if there is some credibility is the company allowed on campus."
Role of Maharashtra Association of Training and Placement Officers
The Maharashtra Association of Training and Placement Officers (MaTPO), which includes 700 government colleges (around 400 engineering colleges) across the state, has been working for over a decade to help students secure placements. Professor Sanjay Jadhav, secretary of MaTPO, suggested that fraudulent companies like ThynkTech may have approached new colleges or those with inexperienced placement officers.
At least 500 IT engineers, employees, and interns were left jobless after ThynkTech India OPC Pvt Ltd, a Noida-registered IT company, shut down its divisional branch in Hinjewadi without notice on April 22. An intern filed a complaint with the Hinjewadi police, accusing the company of cheating employees, withholding salaries, and misappropriating security deposits. This incident highlighted the hardships faced by engineering graduates, including delayed campus onboarding, shrinking entry-level hiring, and job frauds.
Enhanced Verification Measures
Professor Jadhav added that for any new company approaching colleges for placements, extensive checks are now conducted. These include verifying company registration on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) portal, reviewing employee feedback on Glassdoor and Reddit, and advising colleges to discourage companies from collecting money from students.
MaTPO is also developing guidelines for placement officers on how to verify companies effectively. Key points include assessing the working capital of the company, background of owners, company registration and building premises, and past employee reviews.
Educating Students on Warning Signs
Placement officers are educating students about red flags such as upfront payment demands, unrealistic salary offers, and unofficial communication channels. A fresher from an engineering college in Solapur, who received an offer from ThynkTech in March, noted that the company approached her through off-campus hiring, making it impossible to verify its genuineness.
The lack of verification by colleges and students often stems from desperation for employment. Only about 50% of engineering students secure jobs due to limited companies visiting campuses. When a company does come for placements, there is a huge rush of students willing to accept positions.
Maharashtra produces approximately 1,50,000 to 1,75,000 engineering graduates annually, with placement rates ranging from 30% to 40%, according to placement officers.
