Aptech initiative to teach English in emerging countries

After teaching IT and multimedia for well over 25 years, Aptech has identified a new avenue for expansion.

This time around it has decided to teach English, with a particular focus on emerging countries. The IT training major has recognised the potential as these countries are taking to information technology in a big way.

The firm, which has over 800 centres in India, offers IT courses in 40 emerging countries. As IT consumption increases in these countries in the form of deployment of solutions, the demand for IT support services grows. Top Indian companies too are looking at business from these markets as the markets in the US and European Union are showing strains.

“There a huge demand for English in these countries as they are historically backward in this aspect. We have sizeable presence and understanding of the local markets,” Ninad Karpe, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Aptech, said.

The IT education firm has prepared courseware, keeping in view the specific needs of the IT and IT-enabled services industry. “We will give process oriented training, say, for human resources activity,” he said.

Under the new initiative, branded English Express, Aptech would offer spoken English courses. “We are going to start this with two centres in Russia and the Gulf by the year-end. After that we will go to Vietnam and Nigeria. We will expand the reach to 30 centres outside India by 2014 and 45 in India,” he said.

In a soft launch, the company has already started English courses in 25 centres in India.

kurmanath.kanchi@thehindu.co.in