NIIT, Genpact form JV to provide BPO training

New Delhi, Jun 11 (UNI) Software training firm NIIT Ltd today said it has formed a joint venture (JV) with leading Bussiness Process Outsourcing (BPO) player Genpact to train workforce in specialised areas of banking, finance and insurance.

''The JV, called NIIT Institute of Process Excellence Ltd, will see an initial investment of Rs 25 crore to set up over 250 such training centres by 2012. NIIT will own 75 per cent stake while the rest will be held by Genpact,'' NIIT CEO Vijay Thadani told reporters here.

The JV aims at training 15-20 per cent of the 1.4 million workforce which is expected to join the BPO industry by 2010 as predicted by a Nasscom study, he said.

The institute will train about 7,000-10,000 students in the first year of operation and the four month-course would cost about Rs 20,000-25,000.

The first centre is expected to come up at Gurgaon in September.

''The JV will set up seven centres in the first year of operation in Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune followed by Dalian, Changchun, Shanghai and Xian in China and Manila in Philippines in the next phase,'' Mr Thadani said.

Initially, the institute will offer training programs in areas such as business processes, language skills, and business communication.

''Later, we will add more offerings in other areas including finance and accounting, banking, insurance and supply chain. The course includes three months of classroom training followed by a month internship in an ITeS company,'' Mr Thadani said.

Nasscom estimates that the Indian BPO industry provided direct employment to 7,04,000 professionals in FY08, and is projected to generate an additional 1.4 million jobs by 2010.

Genpact will also provide industry-specific knowledge as well as internship, and job opportunities to students, while NIIT will complement this with its expertise in learning content development, training delivery, and its capabilities in education process management.

UNI SR MP KN1943