Wanted: 17,000 IT Pros

TheIT/BPO industry will require an additional 17,000 IT professionals and another 30,000 employed in the BPO sector if it’s to reach the Government’s target of being a US$ one billion industry by 2015, an official said.
Madu Ratnayake, General Secretary Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies(SLASSCOM), that encompasses both the IT and BPO industry and Vice President Virtusa, a software exporting firm, said that at present the IT/BPO industry is a US$ 390 million industry employing 35,000.
On the basis that 70% of the students trained for the two sectors would meet the industry requirement, the need therefore is to train 45,000 for the BPO sector and 25,000 for the IT sector during this period so as to meet the 2015 target, he said.
Ratnayake was speaking at the launch of an academy to train students for the BPO industry that took place on Tuesday. The curriculum also includes English.
Speaking further, he said that the current US$ 390 million export value comprised US$ 97 million from the BPO industry and US$ 290 million from the IT industry.
If the IT/BPO industry is to become a billion dollar industry by 2015 as targeted, the IT sector will have to contribute US$ 750 million and the BPO sector US$ 450 million. This will require a net addition of 17,000 to the IT sector and 30,000 to the BPO sector, said Ratnayake.
Yasas Vishuddhi Abeywickrama, CEO Lanka BPO Academy, in his speech said that Accenture, the Australian outsourcing company that he works for, employs 10-15,000 people in India.
“Why cannot we have those numbers?” he asked.