A silver lining to the COVID-19 pandemic is that it is leading organisations to reconsider their talent acquisition and retention strategies. This trend is particularly noticeable in the tech sector, where diversity initiatives are on the rise.
Given this, “TakeTwo”, a free career accelerator programme for women technologists launched by Talent500 by ANSR has not come a day too soon.
Talent500 by ANSR builds and operates Global Capability Centres (GCCs) for companies; and Vikram Ahuja, co-founder, Talent500, points out that the new programme aims to increase women's representation in GCCs.
“The average percentage of women in GCCs run companies is in the range of 25 to 30%, which is lower than the global average,” says Ahuja.
“Our aim is to add over 5000 women into the GCC space in the next three years,” he says, suggesting that the flexibility with which organisations have started managing their talent pool, following the novel Coronavirus outbreak, makes this objective easier to achieve.
“With some of the changes the COVID-19 crisis has brought about, companies are increasingly realising the benefits that diversity can have from a productivity and profitability standpoint,” he says.
A tech boot camp
There are two stands to TakeTwo, conducted in partnership with Futurense: The first is about a six-week boot camp with master classes and sessions from industry experts on technology trends and soft skills. It would also train women technologists' on how to take corporate interviews.
“We are looking at bringing on board women technologists with experience in core Java and who are on a career break of one to four years, for lateral roles,” says Ahuja, adding that full-stack developers are in demand in the industry.
The selection process includes an online assessment followed by an in-person interview. Every batch will have 15-30 women.
The second part of the accelerator programme has an academic session, where the Indian Institute of Technology would offer the participants tech courses that are much in demand. Participants would receive support over a nine-month period.
The programme begins on January 18, 2021. To register, visit talent500.co/take-two
