One of the greatest challenges IT companies face in common with all people-intensive organisations is ever-increasing attrition, creating the need for talent-creation and retention. At present, we are witnessing youth making fast strides in their careers, partly influenced by social media. This can be seen as both positive and negative. At a time when technology is aiding in the development of IT professionals, it is imperative that the industry is focussed on bringing about the best talent and unleashing the true potential of its students.

Managers of tomorrow
At Aptech, we have been striving to address industry manpower challenges by creating the required talent. Through strong alliances with global IT leaders like Microsoft, Oracle and Red Hat, companies like Aptech help the industry by training students and corporates in the latest technologies. This in turn helps the IT industry through the availability of tech-savvy young professionals to cater to their needs.

Exposure to Tech Trends

To meet this demand, it is critical to be in sync with the changing demands of the IT industry and
design curricula based on need. We, for example, create platforms for IT companies to harness talent as they depute their engineers to adapt to new courses and technologies. Frameworks around MS, .NET, Java EE and open source are drawing the interest of IT managers to develop standalone/client server/web applications. There is particular focus on data management courses around MS Access, SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL.

Shortcomings in terms of hardware and networking are bridged with courses on routers, cloud computing and Linux and Microsoft products and specific courses such as Security+, Certified Ethical Hacker and MCITP (virtualisation and remote infrastructure management), thereby creating a talent pool. The collaborative model is especially addressing the increasing need for new talent and helping to keep in check the growing attrition ratio.

Having trained more than 6.4 mn students over the past two decades across 40-plus countries, Aptech now has enough mobility, momentum and direction to be a catalyst for growth in developing new talent.

Futuristic Technologies

The technologies deployed for education – such as e-learning, CBT, web-based tutorials and distance learning – are also shaping IT-related outcomes. Learners are using tools like audio-visual devices, videos, social networking and peer-to-peer discussion rooms. Content can be delivered over the web, CBT, intranet or extranet. Several smart ways of learning come into play this way, including live conferences, which are a very economical model in distance learning. These courses introduce the trainer to the dashboard in place of the white or black-board, which helps them in the real work environment. Dynamically developed question papers allow educators to set and check benchmarks according to industry standards. We should not be surprised when a time comes that our educational assignments, certifications, teaching tools and virtual labs are all in a cloud and can be accessed using thin clients.

Books I like to read:
The Alexander trilogy by Valerio Massimo Manfredi
Alexander: Child of a Dream
Alexander: The Sands of Ammon
Alexander: The Ends of the Earth
“The books carry a unique perspective on strategy, execution”  
WRITER: VALERIO MASSIMO MANFREDI
PUBLISHER: MACMILLAN
PRICE: Rs 280

Ninad Karpe (pictured) is MD & CEO of Aptech Ltd.