Campus hiring that ends in joiners, not in an offer-acceptance spreadsheet
Campus hiring looks cheap until you count the drop-offs. Offers go out in February and half the batch has moved on by July. We run the drive calendar, the testing, the offer engagement through the gap months and the joining-day conversion, across ITIs, polytechnics, diploma and engineering colleges.
Scope, headcount and site city. We aim to send a costed proposal within one working day.
The gap between offer and joining is where campus hiring is won
Between the drive and the joining date sits four to six months of exam results, family pressure and a competing offer. That window is a programme, not a wait.
- ✓Institute mapping by trade, district and placement record
- ✓Aptitude, trade and shop-floor dexterity testing
- ✓Offer letter issue and acceptance tracking per student
- ✓Monthly engagement calls through the result-to-joining gap
- ✓Joining-day logistics: travel, hostel, documentation, induction
- ✓Apprentice route via NAPS or NATS where the stipend model fits better
A fresher pipeline is the durable fix for skilled-trade wage inflation
Experienced fitters and CNC operators cost more every year because everyone is chasing the same pool. Building your own supply is slower, but it lasts.
Poaching raises wages across your existing grade. One 15% counter-offer resets the band for everybody on that machine.
And attrition inside the first six months when the next plant offers ₹2,000 more, because nothing binds the worker to you.
Fresher intake at entry wage, trained on your machines and your standards, through an apprentice route or a fair training-cost agreement. Cheaper at intake, and more loyal because you built their skills.
Get a quote →
Drive calendar, testing, conversion — how campus hiring runs
Campus hiring is billed per joined candidate, not per offer issued. If trainees sit on our payroll instead, the slider shows the monthly bill at an assumed ₹14,000 gross wage and an illustrative 12% fee, before GST; your actual fee is set out in the rate card. Apprentice stipend models are costed separately.
We map institutes by trade output and placement discipline, then lock drive dates before your competitors do.
When to hire from each campus pool in India
Each fresher pool runs on its own academic calendar, and the best students are spoken for early. Plan the drive a season ahead of the joining month you need.
| Talent pool | Drive window | Typical joining | First roles | Apprentice route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITI (NCVT / SCVT trades) | Final year, before the trade exams | After results — commonly August to October | Fitter, electrician, machinist, welder, operator trainees | NAPS |
| Polytechnic diploma | Final year, roughly October to March | June to August, after results | Junior engineer, technician, quality and maintenance trainees | NATS |
| B.E. / B.Tech | Placement season, roughly August to February | June to August after graduation | Graduate engineer trainee, design, production, IT | NATS |
| B.Sc., B.Com., BBA and other graduates | Final year, December to April | June to August | Quality lab, accounts, HR, customer support, sales trainees | NATS or NAPS, by course |
Indicative windows — exam and result dates vary by State board, university and year. Top engineering campuses run their own placement calendars and usually open slots only to employers registered well in advance.
Employee, company trainee or apprentice? Choosing how freshers join
The label on the offer letter decides the law that applies. A "trainee" on your payroll is still an employee; only an apprentice engaged under the Apprentices Act, 1961 sits outside the labour-law definition of employee.
| Direct employee | Company "trainee" | NAPS apprentice | NATS apprentice | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who it suits | Freshers going straight onto a job | Freshers on a probation-style learning period | ITI, school pass-outs and some graduates | Diploma and degree holders |
| Pay | At least the State minimum wage | At least the State minimum wage — the trainee label is no exemption | Stipend, at least the prescribed minimum | Stipend: minimum ₹12,300 a month for graduates, ₹10,900 for diploma holders (from 1 April 2026) |
| Government support | None | None | 25% of the stipend, up to ₹1,500 a month, under NAPS-2 | 50% of the prescribed minimum stipend, via direct benefit transfer |
| PF, ESI and gratuity | Yes, as for any employee | Yes | No — apprentices under the Apprentices Act are outside the Code on Social Security's definition of employee | No — same exclusion |
| At the end | Continues | Confirmed or released under your policy | No obligation to absorb; absorb on merit | No obligation to absorb; absorb on merit |
Rates from the Ministry of Education's NATS revision (effective 1 April 2026) and MSDE's NAPS-2 guidelines; NAPS-2 is notified to run to 30 September 2026, so check our NAPS page for its successor terms. Details on NATS apprenticeship management.
What to settle with the institute before a campus drive
Training and placement officers (TPOs) and ITI principals decide which employers get the best slots. They favour employers who arrive with complete, honest information.
- ✓Job description, work location and shift pattern in plain language
- ✓CTC with a monthly in-hand figure, not just an annual number
- ✓Eligibility: branch or trade, pass year, minimum marks, backlog policy
- ✓Selection rounds and how long results take — ideally the same day
- ✓Any training-cost agreement disclosed upfront, in writing
- ✓Offer letter date, joining month and what happens if results are delayed
- ✓Accommodation, canteen and transport for out-of-town joiners
- ✓A named contact for students between offer and joining
Training bonds for freshers: what holds up and what backfires
Many employers want to protect their training investment. Indian courts have generally allowed employers to recover reasonable training costs, but not to penalise a worker for leaving.
Recover real costs, pro-rated
A written agreement to repay documented training costs if the trainee leaves within a defined period, reducing month by month, is the defensible form.
No blanket penalties
A fixed amount unrelated to any real cost, or a bar on working for anyone else afterwards, is likely to be treated as a penalty or a restraint of trade and is hard to enforce.
Do not hold original certificates
Keeping a fresher's original marksheets or ITI certificates as security damages your reputation with institutes and is widely challenged. Verify and return them.
Say it before the offer
Terms first disclosed on joining day cause drop-offs and TPO complaints. Put them in the pre-placement talk and the offer letter.
Questions buyers ask before signing
Answers we give in the first call, written down so you can compare vendors on the same terms.
Get a quote →What does campus hiring cost per candidate?+
It is billed per joined candidate, typically a flat fee per head that varies with the qualification tier — ITI and diploma at the lower end, engineering graduates higher. Nothing is charged for offers that do not convert.
Which institutes do you cover?+
We build the institute list for each mandate — government and private ITIs, polytechnics, diploma and engineering colleges — by trade, district and past placement record, starting from Tamil Nadu, where we are based, and extending to the States your roles and joining locations need.
Can freshers be hired as apprentices instead of employees?+
Yes, and often it is the better structure. Under NAPS or NATS the intake runs on a stipend with a government share — 25% up to ₹1,500 a month under NAPS-2, and 50% of the prescribed minimum under NATS — and you decide on absorption at the end of the apprenticeship term.
How do you stop offer drop-off before joining?+
A structured engagement programme through the gap: signed acceptance, monthly calls, early sharing of joining documents and location details, a joining-day logistics plan and, where relevant, a family reassurance call. We report offer-to-joining conversion by institute so you can see where it works.
Do students pay any fee?+
Never. Candidates and students are never charged by Godstone at any stage. If anyone demands money in our name, report it to the number on this page.
When should we start planning campus hiring?+
Around six months before the joining month you need. For June–August joiners from diploma and engineering colleges, that means booking drive slots between the previous August and February; ITI batches are usually hired before the trade exams for joining after results.
Do apprentices need PF and ESI?+
No. Apprentices engaged under the Apprentices Act, 1961 are excluded from the definition of employee under the Code on Social Security, so PF and ESI do not apply during the apprenticeship; they are paid a stipend, not wages. Company "trainees" on your payroll are employees and must be covered.
What is the stipend for NATS apprentices in 2026?+
From 1 April 2026 the minimum NATS stipend is ₹12,300 a month for graduate apprentices, ₹10,900 for diploma apprentices and ₹9,600 for vocational (technician) apprentices, with the Government reimbursing 50% of the prescribed minimum through direct benefit transfer.
Lock your drive calendar before the placement season
Tell us the trades and the joining month. We come back with an institute shortlist, drive dates and a per-joiner cost.