The University of Pune is planning to churn out 50,000 business process outsourcing (BPO) professionals every year through a ‘distance learning’ training programme it has launched in association with Cisco and the newly-formed firm Global Talent Track (GTT). The management reasons that employment opportunities through conventional streams are few and this new optional course will help students get jobs in the BPO sector.
Initiated by university vice-chancellor and economist Narendra Jadhav, the programme will enrol teachers and students from 100 affiliated colleges in Pune, Ahmednagar and Nashik districts.
Colleges participating in the programme would take care of the infrastructure and connectivity required for the programme. GTT will design and develop content, training modules and a help-desk for participants; Cisco would be responsible for interconnectivity and upgrade of connectivity required at colleges.
“The training modules have been designed so that students will have an option to select modules of their interest and liking. The ever-growing BPO sector needs employable graduates, which the current educational system is unable to provide. This programme will provide vocational education to students during their graduation years so that they immediately find a job in a BPO firm. The course is not mandatory,” said Jadhav.
Initially, the university wants to enrol 30,000 students for this programme along with around 100 teachers as facilitators. The programme will be extended to 50,000 students during the first year and later to 650,000 students across 520 colleges over three years. There would be different training modules ranging from 130 hours to more than 200 hours of training. Participants would receive certification from Nasscom after the completion of the programme and would receive placement assistance.
On being asked why students were being made to pay for training when BPOs werealready training executives Jadhav said: “It is not the responsibility of the industry to train freshers. Educational institutions should ensure that they produce employable graduates, which is not happening as of now. This training programme will ensure that ready-to-work students are available for BPOs in India.”
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GTT CEO Uma Ganesh said the course curriculum will ensure that students pick up modules of their choice and then develop the skills required to take up BPO jobs.
“This is probably the first such initiative of this scale where more than 50,000 students are going to participate annually. As the number of students increases, the training fee would go down,” she added. The university as well as Cisco are awarding scholarships or fee wavier to students from socially and economically deprived classes to promote this training programme.