The Hindu Business Line : Accenture, XLRI in tie-up

XLRI Jamshedpur has forged a tie-up with global consulting technology and outsourcing major Accenture for introduction of a 15-month certification course in human resources (HR) that has been tailored to meet the specific needs of the BPO (business process outsourcing) / ITES (IT enabled services) industry.

According to informed sources, the BPO / ITES industry is people-centric. In human resources there is more of a staff function than a line function. Besides, the profile of the people who comprise the BPO / ITES industry is very different from those in traditional industries.

The sources said that, in India, more than one million people are engaged in the BPO / ITES industry. This number is expected to surpass five million by 2012. As such, thousands of HR professionals would have to be especially trained to meet the specific needs of the BPO / ITES industry. "There is no way that any business school can meet this need on its own," the sources said, adding that it would be imperative to formulate a new and highly-customised module for training HR professionals for the BPO / ITES industry.

Said the sources: "In the BPO / ITES industry, there is no honeymoon period and people are expected to deliver from day one. Therefore, the traditional methods of recruitment do not apply. One has to take into account several factors, such as the age of the people who take up jobs in this sector. Their career aspirations are different even as most of the youngsters use their stint in the BPO / ITES sector as a stepping stone to something else in life."

Customisation of the course, which is all set to take off from this month, is over. It includes 15 modules in HR, specific to the BPO / ITES sector. This includes one module in marketing and finance as well "because HR people in the BPO / ITES sector also have to interact with clients." The first batch will have 35 students who have been carefully selected after a -stage screening process. On completion of the course, they will receive the certification from the XLRI-Accenture HR Academy.

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