As the booming business process outsourcing and management (BPM) is offering a promising career opportunities for many, the demand for skilled manpower is on the rise. Experts say that the graduates passing out of campuses need to improve their skillsets to make them job-ready.
Though Visakhapatnam is poised to take a big leap in the BPM segment with the city emerging as No. 1 in India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPO) in getting highest number of seats, the number of institutes offering short-term courses in disruptive technologies is not sufficient, feel the experts.
Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) is implementing IBPO scheme to encourage BPM industry and create jobs to the locals.
Efforts have been made by the industry representatives including Tech Mahindra, Skill Development Institute, AP IT Academy and IT Association of AP (ITAAP) to address the issue. However, the progress appear to be not in tune with the demand.
Employment quotient
“We want that more institutes come to improve the employment quotient of students passing out various courses so that they can be picked up straight away from the campuses by prospective employers,” ITAAP president-elect Kosaraju Sridhar says.
Skillset has become the buzzword due to the disruptive technology which offers a variety of job opportunities in data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning and so on.
More jobs on the cards
In a significant development, Andhra Pradesh has topped in getting seats (15,000) sanctioned under the IBPO and 90% of them are in Visakhapatnam. This is next to Tamil Nadu, which got a sanction for 7,000 seats.
“In the next two years, around 40,000 BPM jobs are likely to be generated in Visakhapatnam with a massive requirement for young candidates with skillsets,” says STPI Joint Director M.P. Dubey.
Now, Visakhapatnam is home for BPM players such as Conduent, Miracle, Concentrix, HSBC, WNS, IBM and Patra India. The present strength is put at around 25,000.
Turnover
Conduent, which has moved to the Millennium Tower sometime ago, has recruited 2,500 candidates. It has plans to increase the manpower by 5,000 in the next two years.
Further, the city, the largest centre for IT and ITES units in the State, has an annual turnover of ₹2,000 crore. Industry sources says going by the projections, it will grow at 20% per annum.
