Processing .....please wait.. 
The article has been forwarded.... 
Nasscom to start IT training program at universities
By siliconindia
|
Tuesday, 09 September 2008, 23:59 IST
Bangalore: To nurture young talents right from the colleges and make them competent in IT and BPO sectors, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) is all set to start a vocational training model in Indian universities. Initially, the training program will be started at Pune University. The program will be launched in October, 2008.
Inspired from Germany and Brazil, who follow a dual education system by which a degree student simultaneously gets vocational training, Nasscom will extend the program to other universities also. Such training programs in Germany and Brazil are funded by the government and supported by industry and chambers of commerce and these countries have set certain benchmarks in IT and BPO training.
"We first want to test this model in Maharashtra and then scale this initiative 10-fold by going to cities like Lucknow, Bhopal and Mohali and north-eastern cities," Ganesh Natarajan, chairman, Nasscom told The Financial Express.
"Nasscom, along with a large e-learning company and a technology company, has formed a consortium to bring vocational training to about 30,000 degree students of Pune University," he added.
The training will transmit professional IT & BPO skills in insurance, retail, hospitality and others. "We have identified about 30 areas of specialization and we expect at least 10 percent of the total three lakh students of the university to have the right attitude and aptitude for the program," added Natarajan.
The e-learning and training companies would charge a nominal fee, while the university will provide space for running the program. Nasscom will facilitate aptitude tests of the students and thus help identify right candidates for training.
The cost for the training is expected to come about Rs 6,000-7,000 and scholarship will be a available for those who cannot afford it.
Nasscom's initiation comes in a situation when most of the IT companies looking to review their hiring plans.
Natarajan further mentioned that the industry is largely looking at absorbing freshers to cut costs. The current practice of IT companies giving six-month training to freshers is not going to upscale productivity and, there is a huge need to scale up this initiative.
