Rupee woes: NIFT-ians find greener pastures

When the 35-odd students got enrolled for the first batch of the two-year Masters in Fashion Technology programme in Management at National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Gandhinagar, in 2005, a large number among them were eager to specialise in the apparel and textiles exports management.

Not anymore. Students are exploring opportunities in other sectors such as retail, merchandising, branding and supply chain management for their upcoming final placements.

The changing economic scenario has led the students in seeing better opportunities in other emerging sectors.

The garment industry has had a forgettable year. Reeling under the pressure due to continued rupee appreciation of more than 12 per cent in 2007, the industry has seen a sharp decline in exports in the last few months. But even as the government steps up for damage control, its repurcussions are being seen at NIFT.

"Recession in the garment industry has meant some students are now more inclined towards other sectors. Close to 30 per cent of the students are interested in the retail and marketing sector, 30 per cent in merchandising sector while the rest are focused on supply chain management," said Benaya Bhusan Jena, head of the Fashion Management Studies Department at NIFT, Gandhinagar.

Jena said Indian and international fashion brands, merchandising majors and top retail companies are interested to absorb the management students at entry-level and middle-level management positions considering their expertise in the fashion industry.

He added that despite the rupee crisis, around eight students had expressed interest to explore working with export companies or starting their own export-oriented units, expecting present conditions to improve in the near future.

Close to 200 companies are expected to arrive for the placements which happen phase wise in different campuses. Centralised placements, where students choose any two campuses to interact with the companies, was introduced last year after the NIFT bill was passed.

Under the format, the first round of placements will happen at the Mumbai campus, followed by the Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai campuses.

"In case the students are still not placed by then, which is a rarity, companies can come to the Kolkata, Gandhinagar and Hyderabad campuses by the end of January," said Shubhangi Yadav, Regional Industry Co-ordinator at NIFT, Gandhinagar.

Last year saw management-level placements made into the AMM department of the Trident Group, where eight students were offered an average annual salary of Rs 8,00,000. The salary packages were among the highest across fashion schools in the country.

Shahi, Madura, Arvind, Pantaloon, Lifestyle, Cascade, Carrefour, East West, Orient Crafts, Orient Clothing and Silvia were among the domestic recruiters while internationl companies from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Dubai and Madagascar had made it last year and are expected to visit the campus this year too.