Corporates help double Indian training market

Market estimated to be worth Rs 6,000 crore

With most training companies expecting the market to double by next year, the Indian training industry seems to have come of age.

Although, the bulk of Rs 10,000 crore that Indian companies spend on corporate training is being consumed by freelance consultants, companies engaged in corporate training are optimistic about the Indian market.

Surprisingly, no official data on the market for corporate training in India exists. The market is unofficially estimated to be anywhere between Rs 3000 crore and Rs 6000 crore.

"The corporate training market is set to grow exponentially in the coming year owing to the growing realisation by most companies that training forms an integral part of a company's growth plans," said Raj Bowen, CEO of Dale Carnegie India.

Indian companies' perception regarding corporate training seems to have undergone a sea-change in the past two years, with most companies realising it to be an integral part of enhancing the productivity of its personnel.

The need for corporate training, however, is felt mostly by BPOs, which not only have to comply with standards of their international clients, but also have to check their spiralling attrition rates.

"The attrition rates that the Indian BPO industry is witnessing can be significantly checked if the training imparted is more focused and comprehensive rather than being just 'tactical'," an industry expert said.

While MNCs with their global standards of training are the harbingers of corporate training culture in India, the bug seems to have bitten most companies aiming at increasing their efficiency and attracting foreign clients.

Sectors like government and manufacturing, which not so long back, were considered lackadaisical in their approach towards corporate training, have also jumped the corporate training bandwagon, with their human resource (HR) budgets swelling in the last 20 months.

With 98 per cent of the training industry worldwide catering to corporate clients, Indian market is now the most sought after place for most training companies.

With the growing realisation by Indian corporates for a more holistic training program for their employees, Indian market is now the most sought after place for most training companies.

While sunrise sectors like business process outsourcing (BPO) have seen a huge rise in their HR budgets because of rising employment levels, sectors like manufacturing with stable workforce have seen a hike in their budgets primarily on account of greater emphasis on training.