HCL Technologies, the fourth largest IT service company in India, announced on Jan. 26 that it will add 10,000 local jobs in both the U.S. and Europe over the next five years.
The company will do this through the creation of Global Centers of Excellence in key U.S. and European markets. The goals are to foster greater collaboration between HCL and local communities, universities, governments and customers; significantly increase employee competiveness and accelerate job creation efforts in both the U.S. and Europe.
It will expand investments that the company has recently made in key markets including Seattle, Raleigh, Rochester, NY and Wilsonville, Oregon. In each of these areas, HCL has created engineering hubs and delivery centers and hired thousands of local workers.
Building on the company's "Socially Responsible Business Initiative," these new centers will allow the company to contribute socially, economically and academically while strengthening its business model in these two regions.
This philosophy is an extention of its "Employees First, Customers Second" philosophy. "As our unique Employees First culture has continued to grow and evolve, we've seen more and more HCL employees expressing the desire to see a truly socially responsible business model," said Vineet Nayar, Vice Chairman & CEO, HCL Technologies.
"Clearly, the need of the hour is growth and employment and we believe that this initiative will create unique business value for HCL while generating sustainable employment in local economies for years to come. It will need significant collaboration of all stakeholders, however we do believe that it can be done and we are committed to backing this program with all our resources and best intent," he added.
The Centers will offer recruitment and training programs for college graduates as well as provide platforms for developing an IT skill pool in local communities through collaboration with anchor customers and universities. HCL will be working with 12 universities to offer a six-month elective course -- as well as workshops on technology and management -- and encouraging innovation through contests such as the HCL-M-Prize. HCL's technology partners will also join hands in this initiative to provide training in upcoming technologies so that the talent deficit in these areas gets addressed.
The company is also working closely with government agencies to enlist their support in developing these ecosystems.
A pilot program started on these lines across five HCL centers located in Seatle, Cary, N.C., Helsinki, Finland, Krakow in Poland and Dublin, has already shown early signs of success.
Note: Nayar spoke on the 2102 DavosForum decscribing the economic "Perfect Storm." To view click here.
