Carnegie opens finishing school for soft skills

Tuesday, 23 October 2007, 19:30 IST
Printer Print Email Email
Bangalore: Dale Carnegie & Associates, a US-based training institute, has opened its first finishing school in soft skills here in collaboration with Walchand PeopleFirst. The finishing school is aimed at the booming IT industry. Set up in a 35-acre campus at Ramanagaram near Bangalore with an upfront investment of 700 million, the school will offer training in communication skills, proficiency in English and personality development to engineering graduates lacking such behavioural skills. "The Walchand Dale Carnegie Finishing School, the first of its kind in the world, will focus on developing soft skills in engineering graduates who find it difficult to be absorbed in IT services and other sectors for want of such skills," Dale Carnegie vice-president for international business Mahan Tavakoli told reporters here Monday. Students, who have scored 45 percent in undergraduate courses and have adequate engineering or technical skills and basic knowledge of English, will have to take an entrance test for admission. They will be offered courses ranging from four to six months, including 35 hours to become proficient in English. The average cost of training will be about 40,000. The Karnataka IT department will ensure students get educational loans from banks, which will be repaid in five years. "We propose to train about 8,500 graduate students in a year," said Pallavi Jha, chairperson and managing director, PeopleFirst.
Source: IANS