Training is key word for IT biggies

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">BANGALORE: Amidst the hiring binge, top IT guns are sinking in big bucks to train their employees. While Infosys is spending Rs 260 crore towards setting up a state-of-the-art corporate training centre in Mysore, tipped to be biggest such centre in the world, Wipro has mandated 5 per cent time of its 30,000 employees on training.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">This means on an average a Wiproite takes time off from his/her billable time and spends atleast 11 out of the total 210 working days on training.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">These biggies also boast of having large in-house training divisions, each employing around 100 people.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">The Big Blue, IBM, has a virtual university called IBM Global Campus that offers on-line and on-demand training to all its employees. It has three leadership development centres (LDCs) in India for management-related training, while two more centres are coming up. C Mahalingam, VP (HR) of IBM India says, "Training at IBM is a life-long journey and people join us for the learning opportunity."</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">One of the top three IT exporters from India, Wipro has already built a capacity of over 4O classrooms that can train around 1,200 employees every day. It has a dedicated workforce of 70 people for undertaking training activities.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">Says Selvan, VP (talents transformation) at Wipro, "Learning is a key drive for the company and our chairman Premji takes keen interest in this. There are no constraints as far as training is concerned."</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">The Infy centre, which will be ready by October 2004, will have the facility to train 4,000 people at a time. Says Infosys chairman, N R Narayana Murthy, "In our business the only constant is change. Training is hugely important as it is the only way one can keep in touch with contemporary issues." The Infy chief mentor wants to be more involved with the Mysore campus by spending three days of the week there.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">The fresh Infy recruits complete approximately three months of integrated on-the-job training before becoming billable to clients. The company''s training division at present has around 98 faculty members, with 65 among them being doctorate or masters degree holders.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">Oracle with 6,000 professionals in India imparts training on emerging technologies in addition to induction training programme for the new recruits.</span></div> </div>