Breaking New Ground with India's Grads

Breaking New Ground with India's Grads

HCL TalentCare aims to train graduates to meet the growing demands of today’s job sector, finds Blessy Mathew Prasad

With recruitment fever hitting campuses with a rage, giants like HCL are already gearing up to train their new recruits when they graduate. Vijay Iyer, Chief Business Officer, HCL TalentCare, talks about how this initiative is a lot more diverse than simple learning and training. In conversation about the country’s widening institution-industry gap, he talks about how they make graduates more employable and by extension, successful.

What is HCL TalentCare all about?

Today, in India, there are hundreds of graduates who are unemployed. On the other hand, there are companies with plenty of vacancies because they can’t find skilled candidates. That is where we step in. We try to bridge this gap and train graduates to meet the demands of the industry.

What are the programmes you offer?

Our training programmes run for a period of six to twelve months and cost about Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 4 lakh. We have two campuses as of now, one in Hyderabad and the other in Chennai. Our focus is on the IT and the Business and Finance sector, with programmes such as Software Testing, Application Development, IT Infrastructure and SMAC (Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud).

What sets you apart from other skill development programmes?

Our value proposition. Even though the courses are highly priced, it is job assured and skill assured. We tell candidates that ‘we will help them through this journey’. That assurance is really important for them. Apart from that, our residential format is something unique. Candidates get to work together and experience the real-life corporate world.

Based on what criteria do you select candidates?

Our eligibility criteria is based on client specification. We have basic requirements such as ‘candidates should be graduates and have no standing arrears’. We map the job to their skills, test them and then train them.

How qualified are the trainers?

All our trainers are of high positions in the academics and industry sector. A lot of case studies are written by senior level academicians and executives. To make any kind of training complete, we need a good balance of theory and practical knowledge. That is what our trainers bring into this programme.

What are your plans to extend the programme?

We hope to enroll another 2,500 people this year and about 20,000 people within the next three years. We are also planning to extend our infrastructure and expand locations.

Reports indicate that there’s not enough room for engineering grads anymore. Is that a challenge for you?

Yes, there are about two to three lakh engineering graduates every year and just a few thousand jobs. Higher education is sometimes just a means of postponing employment. When there are more people and fewer jobs, it is definitely a social challenge.

The Nitty-Gritty

Where: Currently, HCL Talentcare has a state-of-the-art training facility in Hyderabad. A facility in Chennai will be open for scholar intake by end of 2015

When: New batches begin each month through the year

Eligibility: For Young Engineer Program, applicants must have a BE / BTech, MTech or MCA degree. For Young Graduate Program they must have a UG degree (BSc, BCA).

Applicants must be less than 25 years of age

Cost: The Young Engineer Program costs Rs 1,50,000 + applicable taxes excluding boarding and lodging

Stipend:  Applicants will earn a stipend during on-the-job training for three months

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