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Tribals land jobs with BPO

BHUBANESWAR: Many people in interior pockets of Orissa may not be aware what Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) is all about. But a few tribal boys and girls of the State have entered the new job market giving their peers in urban areas a run for their money. And the employing company is none other than the information technology behemoth Infosys. Of 200 appointment letters despatched from the Infosys BPO, many of these have the address of Balimela College, situated in naxalite-infested Malkanagiri district, or tribal-dominated Sundargarh district.

Though a smaller segment of the successful candidates were from the tribal community, it could be a turning point in the way jobs are chased in rural areas. “The boys and girls from the remote districts will be a role model for others,” State IT Secretary P. K Mohapatra said. Twenty-one-year-old general graduate student, Nirupama Lakra, of Government Collge, Sundargarh or 20-year-old Roselin Tirkey of DAV College, Koraput may hail from “well-off” tribal families, but their success at this juncture will surely inspire others in the community.

“The number of tribal students who have been absorbed by the Infosys BPO could be more than 13,” Susmit Pani, Single Point Coordinator of the partnership among government, industry and colleges to enhance employability among general graduate students.

There was no sign of any hesitancy in the employer’s mind on appointing tribal students from remote areas. “These students have competed with others by going through the same stringent selection process which is applicable to all,” Abhijit Sen, Centre Head of Infosys, told The Hindu here on Saturday.

Besides, the competition for BPO jobs also saw a sizeable small town boys and girls making it to the ring. Students of Salipur College in Cuttack district, Swami Vivekananda College of Jagatsinghpur, VD College Jeypore and Rajendra Autonomous College of Bolangir were selected by the Infosys BPO.

The success could be attributed to Project Genesis of Infosys in which nearly 300 college teachers from more than 70 colleges spread across the State were given intensive training for 10 days. These teachers in turn conducted training programme in their respective colleges for the interested students. The State is one of the six states where the project is going on. “Despite several bottlenecks, our students have fared very well. The conversion rate has been comparatively better than others. Of 700 students covered under the programme, 200 have been absorbed,” Mr. Pani said.

Meanwhile, 60 unemployed engineers belonging to the Scheduled Castes/Tribes are being trained for software jobs here.

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