Real talent lies in the colleges other than IIT's and NIT's

The majority of talent for the IT industry lies in colleges other than the IIT's and NIT's and cities which are partially or completely ignored by companies for fresher placements in India, according to a study.

The scientific assesment team, Aspiring Minds, which compiled the study, segregated the country's colleges into a top 100 campus list and compared their employability with the rest of the campuses (which they termed "tier II" campuses).

To calculate their "employability", around 250,000 engineering and MCA students across the country, from more than 12 states, were tested on AMCAT, a test accepted by Indian IT/ItES companies as a standard of measuring candidates' skills.

Campuses which fall in the top 100 campus list were segregated and their employability was compared with the rest of the campuses (tier 2 campuses) and it was discovered that the major skill deficiency between the two categories was in quantitative abilities and not in communicative abilities as presumed.

More than 70 percent of all students employable for IT product sector and more than 80 percent of all students employable for the IT services/KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) sector are in tier 2 colleges, the study said.