BPO job seekers to be put to test

Nasscom declares nationwide rollout of Nasscom Assessment of Competence test starting with Rajasthan.

Indian BPO job seekers will now have to pass a virtual litmus test before they hit their workstations.

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India's premier software body Nasscom (National Association of Software and Service Companies) announced on Tuesday the nationwide rollout of the Nasscom Assessment of Competence (NAC) test starting with Rajasthan.

NAC is a national assessment and certification programme whose primary objective is to provide proper training to potential candidates according to their job requirements. The scores obtained will help organisations screen candidates and determine training needs for individuals.

"In line with our ongoing efforts to strengthen India's IT-BPO workforce, Nasscom initiated the NAC certification, in addition to the IT Workforce Development initiative," said Nasscom president Kiran Karnik.

The Indian ITES-BPO industry is growing at an exponential rate with export revenues of $6.3 billion in the fiscal year 2005-06.

However, according to a Nasscom-McKinsey Report 2005, the industry will face a skilled human resource deficiency within the next 10 years.

State-wise rollout will gradually follow in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Chandigarh.

Currently, only about 25 per cent of technical graduates and 10-15 per cent of general college graduates are suitable for employment in the offshore IT and BPO industries, respectively. As countries from around the world enter the offshore market, it is necessary that India must improve the quality and skills of its workforce, stated a Nasscom press release.

"We are expecting about 2,000 candidates across various colleges to take the test in Rajasthan in the first instance," Karnik added.

The first phase of the NAC test will be held on November 18 in Jaipur and Ajmer.