TELECOM TRAINING: New Horizons

The telecommunications training market in India could be divided into two

broad categories — one catering to the in-house training requirements of

specific companies, the other to the needs of the different sectors of the

communication industry.

Even though not a big market, in the short run, the need for companies to

invest in training to remain competitive is likely to grow, once the Indian

telecommunication market opens up fully. Secondly, the demand for new telecom

professionals would also be fueled by India’s growing stake in the telecom

software, optic fiber and VoIP space. Besides, sectors like semiconductor design

where there is already a shortage of trained electronic design professionals

would



also sustain a huge demand for skilled professionals.

Besides competition and the needs of the specific sectors that would call for

focused training in certain technology areas, there would be an increasing

demand for business management skills in the telecommunications industry. Apart

from driving home the significance of standards and best practices, telecom

management education can help professionals learn skills in problem solving and

people management. This is more important in the context of the fact that while

on one hand telecom services are becoming all pervasive, equipment vendors and

solutions providers too are increasingly relying on long and short term service

commitments to boost their revenue.

Shortage of skilled professionals is indeed a business opportunity for anyone

setting up a telecommunications education business in India. Moreover, it is

noteworthy here that India would not only need to cater to the domestic demand,

but also make up for the shortage of professionals globally. This is something

that India has already been doing for years in the software arena.