Muzaffarpur, May 16: Generating job opportunities and preventing students from migrating to other parts of the state or outside were the focal points of a career seminar held here today.

Delivering the keynote address at a seminar on “Career opportunities for engineering graduates” organised by the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (Icfai) University, Jharkhand chapter, here on Monday, the vice-chancellor, ORS Rao, said as the Indian economy is expected to grow at 8 per cent per year for the next few years, it will certainly create about 4.8 lakh new jobs in the country for fresh engineering graduates every year.

“While a number of students aspire to study engineering, the students and parents must choose carefully the right engineering college to study. The important aspect is the level of practical exposure that the college imparts so that the students studying can get hands-on skills,” said Rao.

Contemporary curriculum, quality of faculty, proper infrastructure, particularly laboratories and workshops, soft skills training and placement assistance are the major concerns and factors.

Students as well as the parents should consider and concentrate on quality education while selecting the colleges. Hundreds of students of various colleges under Bhim Rao Ambedkar Bihar University as well as their guardians attended the seminar.

Rao said there was no need to move to far-flung parts of the states for higher and qualitative education. The Icfai was established by the state legislature of Jharkhand and was notified by the government of Jharkhand on June 17, 2008.

The university is empowered by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to award degrees under Section 22 of UGC Act, 1956.

The ICFAI offered a range of vocational-oriented undergraduate programmes, including BTech, BBA, BCA and BHTM and the postgraduate programmes of MBA and MCA.

The branch manager of UCO Bank, Muzaffarpur, Vivekananda, explained the modalities of educational loan to the gatherings offered by the bank. This could help the students to pursue the professional programmes of the university.

The UCO Bank has created a cell to provide free counselling to the students aspiring to enrol into the technical courses of the Icfai University. The Icfai has so far set up branches at Muzaffarpur, Patna, Begusarai and Bhagalpur district in the state to cater necessary information about careers to needy students.