Bhubaneswar, April 3: The economy may be on a slouch but the BJB (Autonomous) College authorities have turned the odds in their favour.

With initiatives such as employability training and pre-placement programmes for its students, the college has registered a 36 per cent increase in campus recruitments this year over that of last year. The authorities are now expecting the number to go up further.

The premier institution, which saw four companies offering BPO jobs to its students last year, is hosting two more head-hunters this year. Apart from the regular recruiters — EXL Services, Infosys, IBM Global Services and Genpact — the two new recruiters this year are HDFC Life and Larsen & Toubro. The college is also expecting Randstad India and Wipro Technologies to visit its campus.

The increase in the number of students appearing for placements this time is also attributed to job offers in the technical and banking sectors. The four companies that came last year and selected 70-odd students had mostly BPO jobs to offer. Besides, the annual pay package that lurked below the Rs 2-lakh mark last year has risen considerably this time. The average salary offered this year ranged from Rs 1.6 lakh to 2.8 lakh.

However, this year, the BJB authorities are proud that their efforts to prepare students ahead of the gruelling placement season have paid rich dividends. The grooming sessions were held in August and September last year.

As part of the sessions, Aspiring Minds Computer Adaptive Test (Amcat) conducted online exams for students, while Wipro Technologies and Pep Biz conducted daylong training workshops.

“The companies gave tips on how to brace up for group discussions and personal interviews.

“The students also attended personality development classes and were given details about the nature of the job,” said college placement officer Kailash Chandra Dash.

“The pre-placement workshops were of great help. Many of us appeared for the tests and interviews to understand what a placement selection process really entails.

“Though I would wish to go ahead with my plans of getting a higher degree, many of my friends would opt for jobs,” said Anikesh, a commerce student who was offered a job by Infosys.