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V. Rishi Kumar

We will witness companies outsourcing their requirements for training and skilled manpower.

Mr Pramod Khera, CEO and Managing Director, Aptech

Hyderabad , Dec. 28

THE technology training landscape is witnessing a paradigm shift in terms of technology inputs and training patterns, according to Mr Pramod Khera, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Aptech Ltd.

It could soon witness a more customised and outsourced approach both for training as well as recruitment, he added.

He told Business Line that "after several years of rapid growth up to 2000, we were faced with two consecutive years of de-growth calling for swift changes in both technology training as also the delivery mechanisms. While the big companies managed to further consolidate their business, smaller ones have either folded up or are merging with big companies."

He said that in the year 2003 there were clear signals of technology sector turnaround. However this time around, the growth was real without any hype associated.

"I feel the industry would be able to sustain this growth over the next four-five years. While large IT services companies are able to get the right pricing, small and mid cap companies are entering niche business application areas rather than compete with big ones. On the other hand, MNCs are continuing to grow India presence, all this calling for more focus and more specialised skill sets."

"As is the case with IT outsourcing, we will witness companies outsourcing their requirements for training and skilled manpower. For instance an MNC requires say about 200 people in networking space over the next quarter, it would interact with a trainer like Aptech and outsource this work. For instance,we partner with i-flex to train people in Flexcube.

There has been heightened recruitment over the last two quarters. For instance, at a leading campus, barely about 30 per cent were recruited last year, but this year 70 per cent people have been recruited even before the end of academic year, he said.

"From an overall size of about Rs 2,000 crore in 2000, the IT education market had shrunk to about Rs 1,500 crore over last two years due to de-growth."

"But this year has witnessed a better business environment, powered by the growth in the BPO and IT ES segment, e-Governance, financial services and IT services sectors. The animation and gaming application continue to be in demand where there will be faster growth," he said.

"While the outlook for the tech training industry is gradually turning better by the day, we may see a lot of consolidation in the sector where smaller firms will get merged with big companies. The generic training approach with pave the way for customised training and this could be through outsourcing mode.

However, the growth of the tech-training sector was linked to the pace at which IT services and related segments such as the ITES and BPO grow, he explained.

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