MIT to help Accenture enhance staff productivity

Accenture has signed a pact with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to train employees for individual and professional development. This, according to Accenture, will help employees enhance critical delivery skills.

Accenture added that training will be for employees who have spent at least an year with them.

Kevin M. Campbell, group chief executive (outsourcing), Accenture said the co-branded certified training programme involving MIT's office of Professional Education Programme (PEP) will develop an Accenture Solutions Delivery Academy. This will provide 18-24 months training programmes on `application development' and `application design' to Accenture employees having two to four years of experience.

The company has identified 20,000 employees globally to be the part of the programme, which will be offered in different phases. In the first phase, of the 6,000 employees to be offered training under the programme, about 4,000 employees will be from India.

"There is a critical gap in the demand and supply of professionals in the IT industry. We feel that there is a need to develop the right skill among the workforce through industry and academia partnership," Campbell added.

Accenture's headcount in India, as of January 2007, stood at 27,000, and this is expected to reach 35,000 by the end of FY07 (August 2007). Campbell said while the cost of offshoring was going up, the company was focussed on delivering value to customers at that price point. "We did a lot of studies on how to increase our employees' involvement and show them right career opportunities," he added.

According to Sandeep Arora, Lead Executive, Accenture Delivery Centres of Technology, India, global firms are now looking at quality than just the price advantage.

"I feel the price game is over in the outsourcing space. Clients are asking us what training are we providing to our employees in various domains. The increase in productivity of employees and delivery capabilities of offshoring destination will eat away the wage inflation," he said.