Nashik: Job placement scene in Nashik is getting brighter and students from the city are way ahead in technical knowledge than their counterparts in other parts of the country, say experts in the field.A report by employability assessment agency Aspiring Minds earlier this week came as a shocker to the training and placement fraternity across the country. Only 4.77% candidates were capable of writing the correct logic for a programme while the remaining were unemployable in the IT sector. The subject of employability of engineers became the main point of discussion once again.When TOI took a review of placement scenario in Nashik on this backdrop, it was revealed that the graph of Nashik-based students being selected for lucrative jobs through campus drives is going up positively. In fact, in the 2016-17 session, the number of students selected through campus drive is expected to see significant rise in prominent institutions.According to placement experts, students in Nashik get job placements easily because they have an edge as far technical knowledge is concerned. However, they need a proper boost in soft skills to continue their winning run, they said."Companies search a complete package in students during campus placement. They pick the most promising talent for their projects. Every company needs a different set of talent. Leading institutes in Nashik have their own modules to prepare their students for this competition," said Pramod Shahabadkar, head of training and placement cell at the renowned K K Wagh Institute of Engineering here.Recently, a multinational company offered Rs 10 lakh annual package each to nine students of this college.During 2015-16, 450 students from this college got placed in multinational companies through campus interviews. This year, the scenario is even positive. More than 300 students have already got jobs while several companies are yet to conduct their placement drives.According to Shahabadkar, the placement figure is expected to surpass last year's figure of 450 very comfortably. "Students of mechanical and IT fields get benefited more through campus placement. IT companies are aggressive and they prefer to come early to catch the most promising talent," he said.According to him, Nashik also has many mechanical companies and they should pro-actively select the best talent through campus placement earlier in the academic session.Another prominent institute for campus placement in the city is Sandip Foundation. Here also, the placement graph is seen moving upwards. In the 2014 academic session, 120 engineering students were placed in different companies. This figure rose to 165 in 2015. The same has already crossed 400 mark in 2016 while the campus placements are still on."Apart from engineering, we have management, pharmacy and polytechnic institutes, taking our placement tally beyond 1,000. This year, the placement figure is expected to be more than double as compared to last year. Fresh students get annual packages from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 10 lakh and more," said Prof Indrajit Sonawane, placement head of Sandip Foundation.Prof Rohit Bag, placement coordinator for IT at Matoshree College of Engineering, said that this year's placement will create a record. "Last year, around 80% of our final year students of IT got placed. This year, 88% have already been placed. Nashik is emerging as a good placement hub. Even big players like Amazon included Nashik in its job location list. The scene is positive not only for IT, but also for core branches," he said.According to him, students of core branches like mechanical and civil also prepare for administrative examinations of UPSC or go for further professional courses like MBA. This may be the reason why percentage of placement in core branches is less than IT.Gauri Kendre, placement head of a leading technical institute here said that placement percentage could get a further boost if students in Nashik develop courage to move out of Maharashtra. "Nashik-based students search jobs within the city. Due to limitations in the fields like IT, they make themselves ready to go to Pune and Mumbai. But, they are mostly reluctant to go to Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Bangaluru and other locations," she said.

Stay updated with all the Latest Nashik headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.