Dale Carnegie Training is set to expand its presence in India. The company, noted for corporate training and skill training for students and faculty of institutes, is looking to offer more programmes to its users and forge additional partnerships in the country.
Dale Carnegie is already operating in India. It has been running a finishing school in the country since 2007. The company has also worked with educational institutions for student training and faculty training. “Since 2006, we have trained nearly 27,000 faculty and about 30,000 students,” says Peter Handal, chairman & CEO, Dale Carnegie Training.
Handal says the company is looking at expanding its corporate world programmes in India. The thrust will be on digital training. He adds that the firm will concentrate on live online training and interactive programmes.
The online programmes cover areas such as information technology (IT), IT-enabled services, BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) and telecom, says Pallavi Jha, managing director of Dale Carnegie Training India.
Dale Carnegie has a tie-up with the Sullivan University in the US to offer joint certificate programmes. The individual courses are tailored to meet specific needs of learners. The courses include IT training, sales training, small business management, and conflict management, among others.
The course process occurs within two components. The first comprises two Dale Carnegie courses being offered locally in a physical classroom environment. The second component has three courses, which are delivered online through Sullivan University’s Global e-Learning initiative.
The company claims the online courses will have the same quality as the regular courses and the curriculum is also the same. For online students, assignments, tests and discussions are accessed through an e-Learning portal. Due dates are still assigned to keep students on track, but students still have more flexibility, when it comes to completing course-work and discussions.
According to Jha, Dale Carnegie will bring all its modules to India.
Dale Carnegie has partnerships with a few institutes in India which run Dale Carnegie finishing schools in their campus. Professors from these institutes are given prior training and they have to appear an examination to qualify to be a trainer in these in-house finishing schools.
Existing ties include partnership with Meghe Group of Institutions in Nagpur. Jha says that Dale Carnegie will be forging many more such alliances with institutes in tie-2 cities in India this year.
On the corporate training side, Handal says that that employee-engagement programmes have been the focus for companies. Programmes on communication skills and presentation are also in demand. “The demand for corporate training is very high in developing nations like India than the western countries. This is because firms here are expanding rapidly and need training to support their workforce,” he says.
Handal divulges that the company is also working with small and medium businesses (SMBs) to provide sales and other training to deal with domestic and international clients. However, the traction here is slower in terms of SMB training, compared to regions such as the US, Europe and South America.
Dale Carnegie is looking to have a 30-35 per cent growth in their finishing school business this year. In addition, it is aiming for a 20 to 25 per cent growth in its overall revenues. About 75-80 per cent of the company’s business comes from corporate training. The rest comes from finishing schools.
