The Hindu Business Line : Accenture emphasises on online courses for staff

"TRAINING is central to us and we have captured all training delivery vehicles," says Mr Rahul Varma, India HR Director, Accenture, talking of the company's learning programmes for its employees.

About 98,000 employees in the company's three divisions - management consulting, technology services and outsourcing - have access to over 15,000 online courses.

This is through MyLearning.accenture.com, an Internet-based training portal that brings internal and as well as learning products from outside on to one Web site.

Accenture has encouraged a "continuous learning culture" within the organisation and this is demonstrated by the global spend of $400 million on training last year, which is about three per cent of the company's revenues during the period, he adds.

The learning portal offers four different types of courses: core courses, required courses, recommended courses and elective courses.

Employees can choose the time and path they want to follow. Though most of the courses are online, some of them are supported by classroom sessions.

The company, with 47 offices worldwide, also ensures that all employees undergo an equal level of training across the globe. "In India, the offtake is very good and growing.

The demand is for job-related and employee-related courses."

Accenture's India headcount is 4,300.

Though employees have to go through certain number of mandatory manhours of training, they are also presented with a totally personalised curriculum of recommended courses and resources when they log in.

The company also has a Knowledge xChange database that houses all the knowledge relevant to its business. Through this, employees will have access to Accenture's collective knowledge and expertise.