IT companies are attempting innovative models to attract talent with non-IT backgrounds. Patni Computer Systems, a provider of IT services and business solutions, has come up with a unique effort to lure talent to the IT sector. The company has begun running training programs for professionals working in other fields, on weekends to equip them with the required skill sets. “There are many people who are not necessarily computer science engineers and may be working in other industries. They could be engineers, but are keen on joining the IT sector. They have no idea on how to go about this process. Patni offers such people a way out,” Kalpana Jaishankar, vice president, HR operations and people development, Patni Computer Systems said.
Such training programmes are spaced over weekends and run for at least four to six months before people are ready to be recruited, she said. Understandably, the candidates are required to indicate that they are keen on working with the company since the company would be investing in their training needs, she said. Jaishankar said the company had managed to attract at least 200 people to the company through such training programs.
The company has rolled out yet another ‘India to US pool program’. “Full opportunities are provided to people to work onsite locations. Sometimes, people working in other companies are tested and interviewed and then taken on board. Typically, a lot of people have aspirations within the company and they are also given an opportunity,” she said. The company has recruitment teams in the UK, Singapore, and Japan, and here people from local regions are preferred to add diversity, she explained. Some of these even travel to India to understand market requirements.