The Hindu Business Line : A yen for Life

IF one spelt Java right, he hopped on to the next flight to the US. — This was a joke IT CEOs loved to share two years ago, when the going was good and IT companies went on a recruitment spree.

But, things have changed dramatically in the last two years due to the downturn gripping the industry. IT firms today hunt for young professionals who are not only technically savvy but also come with other skills — including communication, managerial and business skills. They must, most of all, have the right attitude.

This is where educational institutions have let them down, feel IT companies. Students passing out of colleges come with technical skills, but not the rest. So what's to be done?

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) would like to claim that it has already found a way to tackle this problem, — through its Corporate Training and Education Centre (CTC), at Technopark, the IT park in Thiruvananthapuram.

The centre, set up four years ago and referred to as "The Temple of Learning" by TCS, prepares fresh recruits to the company to excel in a "knowledge-intensive industry," says R. Narayanan, Vice-President, TCS, and in-charge of the centre.

TCS attracts top professionals and grooms every fresh employee for about four months on various skills at the training facility, he says, adding the company spends four to six per cent of its revenue on training.

"Young professionals need to have old heads on young shoulders. Success and survival depend on many skills that are required to cope with changing business landscapes in the global context." New entrants are groomed to reflect the TCS culture, and to understand and interact with people of the international business community, says Narayanan.

The training for new entrants includes classroom training, hands-on interaction with project teams, project-specific (just in time) training, external specialist faculty and continuing education programmes. These are mandatory for all TCS consultants.

The induction training (Life Skills) is for six days, followed by 14 days of fundamentals, 30 days of software engineering, nine days of platform-related training and 15 days of advanced technology. At any time of the year, there are over 1,500 students at the centre.

Established in 1968, TCS today has over 19,000 consultants. The company's revenue in 2000-2001 was Rs 3,142 crore ($689 million), doubling every two years in the last six years.

`Life Skills' is a vital part of the Initial Training Programme (ITP) at TCS. Its aim is to develop new entrants to become competent professionals, say company officials. It is all about "learning how to learn".

Around 10 years' experience of life situations are presented in a telescopic manner within a period of three months, say the officials. During the course of the training programme, individual faculty members act as a `lifeguard' for each batch. The lifeguard dons the cap of a facilitator as against just a lecturer/teacher. "In a nutshell, the lifeguard becomes a friend, philosopher and guide to the trainees".

The modules for Life Skills have been built on learning, fun and camaraderie, say officials. Life Skills includes book reviews, personal management (sessions on receiving and feedback, emotional intelligence, attitude and values), team management (negotiations and conflict management), creativity (de Bono's Lateral Thinking and Six Hats) and culture (both Indian and global business cultures). These are in addition to the "soft skill" modules including team building, personality development and communication skills. "A Life Skills workbook acts as a trigger and reference point for self-learning," says an official.

The personal management module offers personal grooming, dining etiquette, social skills, attitudes and behaviour. In IT, working as a team is very important. The ITP's team management or team-building is simulated through games and other activities, delegating work, resolving conflicts and negotiating for better deals. "Participants are taught to operate beyond egos," says a faculty member.

Being a good team member means putting the good of the team ahead of personal ambitions and agendas. It also means respecting other's opinions, hearing people out and involving everyone in finding a solution. Team management also deals with learning about a behavioural model that will help people to understand themselves and others better, enhancing personal and professional relationships.

For instance, each team, of say four or five, is given a software design. The team works out the design, and the team leader must convince the client (the faculty enacts the role of the client) on the work. The leader and the team are put through rigorous questioning by the client. This helps the students to meet the terms of tough clients satisfactorily.

The ITP's module on communication skills includes sessions on reading, writing, speaking and asking questions.

It also takes care of lessons on telephone etiquette and writing business-related documents. Presentation skills are developed through extempore speeches, debates and technical presentations. Technical writing is part of the writing skills session.

The ITP also features book review. Participants select classics/fiction/management-related books and present the reviews for discussion in the classroom. The discussions lead to some amazing learning and insights on the subject, says a faculty member.

Since many IT professionals come from remote places, communication is a real problem.

Most are scared to talk in front of an audience. It is to such candidates that the ITP comes as a useful tool to improve self-confidence.

According to Narayanan, all fresh entrants, while being on the company's payroll, need to take up the ITP. However, if a candidate does not perform well in the programme, he may not necessarily join the company's mainstream. Normally, around one per cent of fresh candidates wouldn't make it to the mainstream, he adds.

Other than the ITP, the training and education at TCS is a `learning' effort covering all staff, meeting the company's needs, individual aspirations and technology trends, say the faculty members.

raja@thehindu.co.in

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