A BPO outfit in Calcutta. A Telegraph picture

Taking the lead in generating human resources for the burgeoning Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector in Bengal, the state government, in association with GE Capital, is launching a course this month.

?The past few months have seen some major BPO players kicking off their operations in Calcutta or announcing their plans of having a base here. The government wants to equip people with the relevant skills to ensure a steady stream of professionals for the companies,? explained S. K. Mitra, managing director, Webel.

The government?s nodal IT agency ? through its fully-owned subsidiary Webel Informatics Ltd (WIL) ? will offer the 160-hour course, which has been designed by GE Capital. The instructors have also been trained by the BPO major.

?We are expecting very high growth rates in the BPO sector and so we are doing our bit to prepare manpower. But to begin with, we are looking at a capacity of producing around 600 professionals annually. Depending on the results of the four-month pilot period, we will take a decision on ramping up the capacity,? added Mitra.

Priced at Rs 6,000, the programme will also give students the opportunity to appear for campus interviews. According to the agreement between GE Capital and the state government, the company will have the first right to interview the candidates completing the course.

?Talks are on with some other BPO companies as well to offer placement facilities to students. We have plans to market the course aggressively,? said P. K. Chatterjee of WIL, head of the training venture.

The strength of the course will be its content, which GE Capital uses for its in-house training sessions, said Chatterjee, while mentioning the pre-enrolment test, to be conducted between September 14 and 18. Webel has roped in Meritrack, which assists BPO outfits in Bangalore and Hyderabad hire candidates, to conduct the initial screening of the applicants.

?We want high standards to be maintained and so one has to pass the on-line Prometric test before enrolling for the course,? stressed Chatterjee.