Re: Launch of joint Certificate Course by IIBF-DOEACC Level-I 'Foundation Course in ITeS- BPO(Banking)' on Saturday, 19th September 2009 at DOEACC Centre, Aurangabad

The Institute is happy to announce that on 19th September 2009, a new course called 'Foundation Course in ITeS -BPO(Banking)', for 10+2 qualified and undergraduate students was launched at DOEACC Centre, Aurangabad. The launch coincided with the 23rd Foundation Day of DOEACC Centre (formerly CEDTI), Aurangabad (MS).

This course is offered by DOEACC, a wing of the Department of Information and Technology (DIT), Government of India, in association with IIBF.

IIBF is the academic partner in the area of Banking for the course and it has supplied the courseware and a work book for the course. This is the first major tie up with a Government body by the Institute to offer a joint-Course.

IT enabled Services (ITeS) are human resource intensive services, that are delivered over telecom networks or internet for a range of business verticals. More and more ITeS-BPO jobs are being transferred to Indian IT industry. Hence, the country requires creation of better host facilities and adequately qualified manpower with specific expertise and enhanced skill-sets as required by the ITeS-BPO. But the Indian ITeS-BPO industry is faced with challenges related to managing growth and combating competition.

The most critical challenge is the inadequate Front-Line Management expertise in managing and sustaining an ITeS-BPO operation. Further, to remain premier outsourcing destination, India not only has to sustain its vast pool of specialized IT-ITeS talent but it also has to ensure that it remains industry relevant and rightly skilled. Therefore, the focus needs to be shifted from leveraging cost effectiveness and people advantage to also ensuring development of Front-Line Management. On the other hand, the country is faced with a challenge to provided employment to large number of non-science school drop outs and undergraduates, particularly in rural India.

To overcome these challenges, IIBF and DOEACC has joined hands to collectively contribute to sustenance and further strengthening of the country's leadership in outsourcing industry by creating quality curriculum and learning material to develop industry-ready human resource, that is, generating knowledge-based skilled workers through the focused training initiative.

In order to bridge the gaps in skills imparted by formal education and those required by the ITeS-BPO industry, IIBF and DOEACC under the guidance of the 'Sub-Committee of DOEACC Standing Syllabus Committee for working out Course Curricula have conceptualized a value-added Level-I Course-Foundation Course in ITeS-BPO (Banking)' for 10+2 qualified and undergraduate students. This could will fulfill the industry requirement of basic IT skills, Soft skills and English Communication in addition to Banking domain knowledge.

This Level-I course for ITeS-BPO (Banking) is worth 400 hours with upto 50% of this effort devoted to practice. This course material consists of three books-Book-I on English skills, Book-II on Soft skills & basic IT Skills and Book-III on Banking & Finance.

This course material is aimed at entry level employees of ITeS-BPO industry, targeted at Level I-BPO Executives, undertaking front-end jobs. The IT skills module has been designed to expose the candidates to basic computer skills for improving their efficiency. The "Basics of Banking & Finance" module has been designed to introduce the candidates to banking sector operations to enhance their employability in the BPO companies handling Banking Operations. A practical approach has been introduced with concepts of Front Office, Collection, Statement of Accounts, Negotiable Acts, Ledger Analysis, Expense Analysis, Service Tax, Fund Management, etc. Course material for English skills development has emphasis on grammar and communication, thereby easing stress on 10+2 level students in becoming at-par with others.

In the inaugural address, the Chief Guest, Mr. N Ravishankar, IAS, Joint Secretary, DIT, Government of India, New Delhi, lauded the role of IIBF in the certification process and congratulated the Institute for its contribution in the area of banking education to bankers and others in the country.