Promise and Danger of Ameerpet

Pravalika, a 23-year-old civil engineer from Kakatiya University in Telangana, learns that she will get a job in a technology company; that she will visit the US by March 2023; That she will marry—very soon.

Janakiram, his prophet, is in his mid-50s. She is wearing a white dhoti over an orange colored kurta. He sits under a tree with Paytm/Google Pay scanner. Pravalika pays him 200 for a 10-minute face and palm reading session. The forecast disappoints him.

“I don’t believe it. I already have a job offer from Infosys, but I don’t know my joining date yet,” she says.

Pravalika came to Ameerpet to learn Java, a programming language that is in high demand. Her friends who worked at other tech companies advised her that it might help her stay in the job.

There is restlessness in the air too.

Technology professionals have had a great run since the pandemic broke out in 2020. As global corporations turn to digital, the demand for IT services has increased manifold. Jobs were plentiful and people resigned of their own free will. According to news reports, in 2021-22, TCS, India’s largest IT services exporter, hired 100,000 campus graduates. Infosys hired 85,000; HCL Tech 23,000 and Wipro 17,000 freshers.

The tide has gone down. The primary markets of Indian IT – the US and Europe – are on the verge of a slowdown. Therefore, discretionary projects are expected to slow down. In fact, many IT companies have already become cautious and are delaying onboarding for freshers like Pravalika. Campus hiring estimates have been slashed. According to some reports, TCS will hire less than half of the freshers this year in 2021-22. Infosys can hire up to 50,000.

Ameerpet has now become doubly important for thousands of engineers like him. Many of those who come here are unemployed, and will certainly not be able to get a job in a tight market. Ameerpet is his up-skilling destination. In addition to Java, they specialize themselves in Python, Snowflake, Azure or any other software technology required in IT companies. Unlike Kota, where students are prepared for engineering and medical entrance exams in two years, Ameerpet is a quick solution- courses lasting between 15 days and three months.

Ekta Kumari has a master’s degree in computer science, but even after two years of graduation, she has not got a permanent job. “In two years, the requirements of the technical sector have changed drastically and my skills have become obsolete,” says the 26-year-old in a green salwar kurta. Self-confidence. So, I came to Ameerpet for a few months of training,” she says.

Kumari has not taken admission in any coaching institute yet; She is examining the fee structure for moving from one building to another. Like other students, he too has a lot of problems. But, some institutes stand by their emphatic message: “100% Placement”.

This is the promise of many institutions which are working from the dirty space of one room. It works in uncertain times but has its dangers.

Moonlight

Deepak Kumar, in his early 30s, works with Satya Technologies, one of the leading coaching institutes. He speaks Telugu but is less fluent in English or Hindi. Nevertheless, he is an important point in the vast circle of the Institute. He tracks “hot courses”, or emerging ones. Recently, Satya Technologies launched a course in cyber security, for example.

Kumar and other staff also play a role in counseling the incoming students. He admits 100 students every 15 days for a three-month course. “They want to learn DevOps, Python, Tableau, and now cyber security is taking hold,” says Kumar.

The admission process is quite simple. One has to fill a form, and pay between 10,000 more 30,000 depending on the course, and whether they opt for training with or without placement.

Like Satya Technologies, almost every coaching center in Ameerpet has a ‘Technique’ or ‘Software’ as a suffix of their name. This is just cool branding. Such are the posters of students that have been successfully put up – they adorn the corridors through which institutions operate.

Kumar insisted that teachers are mostly those who have left corporate jobs. But coaching institutes know that their best bet is working professionals. They are more up to date on the latest in technology. No doubt, Ameerpet is replete with stories of technical experts who moonlight. During their vacation days, many of them reportedly take an overnight bus from Bengaluru to Hyderabad. Technical experts working in Hyderabad go to coaching centers after 6 pm. How much do they make? teacher salary range is between 30,000 per month to a few lakhs. Not a bad thing for those who like side gigs.

In fact, in Ameerpet, tech executives are known to help other young professionals with ‘live projects’ – for a fee. Many people bring their office laptops to the neighbourhood, asking for help. All of this underscores issues of data integrity, in addition to ethical issues.

Praveen S, a 27-year-old engineer from Aurangabad, arrived at a tea stall wearing old jeans. He learned Java at a Ameerpet coaching institute but still hasn’t mastered it. The engineer appeared for 40 interviews before securing one in a retail company. If his superiors come to know about his shortcomings, he is now afraid of losing his job.

“Though I have the option of working from home, I have not returned to Aurangabad. I stayed back in Ameerpet and whenever I get stuck, I ask my former teacher at the institute to help me,” he says while sipping tea. “There are others who solve Java problems better than me. Can solve and I take my job. To those.”

mastering english

A lot has changed in Ameerpet over the years. The main road was bumpy, littered with pamphlets. Now, the visiting cards of employees and agents advertising the subjects taught in coaching classes have largely replaced pamphlets. Some coaching institutes have adopted a more tech-savvy form. A single screen theatre, Satyam is being renovated into a multiscreen theater and a mall. There are many more food trucks and biryani joints. One of them is the cost of a plate of B-Tech Biryani-Mutton Biryani 99.

Meanwhile, Ameerpet is changing from being just a destination for hot software courses. There are promises of English proficiency in a month’s time, amid neon-lit signboards advertising the software subjects taught. On the third floor of a building at the end of the main street, sits 36-year-old Sheikh Ali. He conducts ‘Master Spoken English’ class.

Says Ali, “Knowing business English (the English used in an office environment) is important and it will set you apart from the rest.”

Amidst taking calls, Ali insists that even the best coders and software developers get rejected in interviews because of their lack of communication skills. He noticed the difference and started a coaching company earlier this year. In his six classes, which he offers every week, engineers are directed to write emails to clients and bosses, interact with colleagues in English, and make presentations. There are also debate classes as part of this training.

Ali’s allegations seem moderate- 3,000 per student for three months. Often he shoots a video of the student speaking in English at the time of enrollment. More videos are recorded in the following weeks to chart the progress.

Ali says his rivals come with something cheap; charge among other English teachers 1,000 more 2,000. Large up-skilling institutions also bundle in spoken English classes but this is not their priority or strength.

fraud industry

One of the biggest hubs of Ameerpet is Naresh Technologies. It offers more than 10 courses. They’re seeing a drop in hiring demand as IT companies’ numbers of human resources teams dwindle – a sign of tough times.

“Things are getting difficult. We have a five-eight-member team whose job it is to bring in five companies in a day to recruit our candidates.” portal. A due diligence is run to verify whether the company being invited is genuine or fake. “We don’t want students to get jobs in a fake firm, which is very common,” she says.

Fake tech companies often ask for fee for joining job aspirants or placement/coaching institutes. They disappear immediately after collecting the loot. This has been a decades-old problem, especially in rural areas of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Here the fraud industry doesn’t stop with fake companies – certificates can be produced for a fee.

Meet the all-rounder (who doesn’t want to be identified by his real name) who says he specializes in multi-tasking, hence the nickname.

A former office boy, he is now an important link in the coaching institute he works for. He walks around the city every day, identifying new students. He further persuades them to join the institute; also, connects them with hostel owners (hostel in ameerpet cost 3,000- 4,000 per month, including food). He may make a commission from these activities, but that is not the whole story.

The all-rounder, sitting outside the fifth-floor building in the neighbourhood, says his company can guarantee a job if a student coughs 2-3 lakhs. How’s that?

Many IT companies prefer candidates with some experience. After a few months of training, the all-rounder can organize a mock experience certificate. “Companies want experienced professionals and graduating freshers are without jobs. Where will the experience come from? So, we create fake certificates with fake company names and mention fake projects they have worked on.”

makes all rounder 3,000 for each candidate who enrolls in the institute. his earnings increase if he can convince a candidate to pay 2-3 lakhs—that’s approx. makes 10,000 once the candidate secures the job by using the fake certificate. “I get around two-three candidates a month who want entry through the back door. But mostly, I bring in about five students a day—they come to learn IBM mainframes etc. as part of the regular curriculum,” says the all-rounder.

Right now they have enough candidates to choose from. Since the outbreak of the pandemic has subsided, the number of job seekers is increasing not only from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, but also from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Orissa. With panic in the air, he doesn’t expect the demand for his intervention to decline.

Not even Jankiram, the fortune teller.