Convergys Corporation, a global leader in relationship management, and Microsoft Corporation, the worldwide leader in software, services, and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential, announced on Tuesday the opening of a Community Technology Center (CTC) in Bangalore, India.
The CTC will aim to increase computer literacy and develop the job-related technology skills of underprivileged children in the Bangalore area.
The joint Microsoft/Convergys programme will have a significant impact in creating new avenues for social and economic opportunities for local students from the government higher primary school and other organisations. Through the CTC program, students will grow their knowledge of computers and upgrade important technology skills essential for future job opportunities.
A team of dedicated Convergys volunteers with strong computer training skills will routinely conduct the classes, which use a highly successful, technology-intensive digital literacy curriculum designed by Microsoft. The practical course will cover topics ranging from the fundamentals to day-to-day practical applications, such as using the Internet, sending e-mail, and creating a risumi.
As a socially responsible corporate citizen, Convergys and its employees are committed to supporting programs that help improve lives and build stronger communities around the globe, by focusing on education, social, and human services.
Vikas Goswami, Community Affairs Manager, Microsoft India, said, "Under our global Unlimited Potential initiative, we are committed to reaching the benefits of technology to those currently underserved by it. This alliance with Convergys is another step in that direction, and one that we hope will have a positive impact on scores of lives."
Mahesh Dadlani, Director of Convergys' Bangalore facility said, "Together with Microsoft, we hope to reach children early and significantly narrow the digital divide to broaden their future opportunities. Digital literacy will continue to emerge as a key enabler in empowering children to improve their employability in the future and to help them hold a competitive edge amongst an increasingly enlightened workforce."
Located in Convergys' Bangalore facility, the CTC will feature an informal and welcoming environment and will be well equipped with computers, printers, Internet access, and teaching aids.
The CTC will steadily increase its outreach with the aim of inducting close to 1,000 students from primary schools and non-profit organisations.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
H1-B, Recession
Sharp drop in H-1B visas being used by Indian cos
Reflecting the changed ground realties in the US in the wake of economic crisis, there has been a sharp drop in H-1B work visas being applied for and obtained by major IT companies from India.
For instance the Infosys, which got as many as 4,559 H-1B visas in the fiscal 2008 and was on top of the list of firms bagging the coveted scheme for professionals, received just 440 H-1B visas in the fiscal 2009 (from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009), according to the latest figures released by the US Citizens and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Similarly, Wipro, which in 2008 got 2,678 H-1B visas, received just 1,964 in 2009; but still topped the list in the fiscal 2009.
In 2008, four out of the top five spots for companies bagging the maximum number of H-1B visas were grabbed by Indian companies. These were Infosys (4,559), Wipro (2678), Satyam (1917) and Tata Consultancy Services (1539). Microsoft with 1037 H1-1B visas was the only US company to figure in top five.
However, the situation has changed dramatically in the year 2009 amid the global financial meltdown.
For instance the Infosys, which got as many as 4,559 H-1B visas in the fiscal 2008 and was on top of the list of firms bagging the coveted scheme for professionals, received just 440 H-1B visas in the fiscal 2009 (from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009), according to the latest figures released by the US Citizens and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Similarly, Wipro, which in 2008 got 2,678 H-1B visas, received just 1,964 in 2009; but still topped the list in the fiscal 2009.
In 2008, four out of the top five spots for companies bagging the maximum number of H-1B visas were grabbed by Indian companies. These were Infosys (4,559), Wipro (2678), Satyam (1917) and Tata Consultancy Services (1539). Microsoft with 1037 H1-1B visas was the only US company to figure in top five.
However, the situation has changed dramatically in the year 2009 amid the global financial meltdown.
IT market, Satyam
Satyam was a great place to work till the scam broke out
Ramesh D (43) had clocked three satisfying years at Satyam. “Satyam was a great place to be. It did not run like a family enterprise, but like a professionally managed company. And the brand had huge equity across Andhra Pradesh – something like what Infosys enjoys in Karnataka,” he says.
So like everyone else, when Ramesh heard of the Maytas acquisition, he was surprised, but dismissed it. It was only when the scam of Rs 8,000 crore unfolded (latest figures estimate the scam at Rs 14,000 crore), that Ramesh was left spellbound. “It was January 7, it was my wife’s birthday. Over the past one year, I have moved from shock to anger and later to reconciliation and now, hope,” he recalls.
He saw hundreds of employees being asked to leave and others left, as and when they got their hands on other offers. Ramesh too has been waiting for the right opportunity.
While Ramalinga Raju, PwC and the investors of Satyam got maximum attention last year, it was the employees of Satyam who were left in the lurch. Last December, the economic slowdown hit India Inc in full force and pink slips were flying faster than recession. Within minutes of the scam hitting headline, resumes of Satyam employees were flooding the market, but they had nowhere to go.
Vinay A (24), for instance, who had joined Satyam’s Bangalore office straight after engineering, managed an opening in a Kenyan firm. “Office was not running as usual. Our bosses would tell us to calm down and focus, but there was no way it could happen. And when it was all over the media, it became humiliating to even enter the office,” he recalls. “I was lucky to have got a break. There were so many who had nowhere to go and were worried because they had families and personal commitments.”
HR experts believe that it was the recession that saved the day for Satyam. “Had the news broken when the economy was on a boom, the company would’ve gone bust overnight, since everyone would’ve found jobs elsewhere,” says BS Murthy, CEO of Leadership Capital, an executive search firm. “Ever since signs of recovery became visible, the firm has seen 18 to 20 per cent attrition,” he adds.
Ramesh couldn’t agree more: “People in technical roles have already begun leaving. But it’s only in the new fiscal that people from areas like HR, finance, administration and facilities will start moving out.”
(Names of employees have been changed on request.)
Source: mydigitalfc
So like everyone else, when Ramesh heard of the Maytas acquisition, he was surprised, but dismissed it. It was only when the scam of Rs 8,000 crore unfolded (latest figures estimate the scam at Rs 14,000 crore), that Ramesh was left spellbound. “It was January 7, it was my wife’s birthday. Over the past one year, I have moved from shock to anger and later to reconciliation and now, hope,” he recalls.
He saw hundreds of employees being asked to leave and others left, as and when they got their hands on other offers. Ramesh too has been waiting for the right opportunity.
While Ramalinga Raju, PwC and the investors of Satyam got maximum attention last year, it was the employees of Satyam who were left in the lurch. Last December, the economic slowdown hit India Inc in full force and pink slips were flying faster than recession. Within minutes of the scam hitting headline, resumes of Satyam employees were flooding the market, but they had nowhere to go.
Vinay A (24), for instance, who had joined Satyam’s Bangalore office straight after engineering, managed an opening in a Kenyan firm. “Office was not running as usual. Our bosses would tell us to calm down and focus, but there was no way it could happen. And when it was all over the media, it became humiliating to even enter the office,” he recalls. “I was lucky to have got a break. There were so many who had nowhere to go and were worried because they had families and personal commitments.”
HR experts believe that it was the recession that saved the day for Satyam. “Had the news broken when the economy was on a boom, the company would’ve gone bust overnight, since everyone would’ve found jobs elsewhere,” says BS Murthy, CEO of Leadership Capital, an executive search firm. “Ever since signs of recovery became visible, the firm has seen 18 to 20 per cent attrition,” he adds.
Ramesh couldn’t agree more: “People in technical roles have already begun leaving. But it’s only in the new fiscal that people from areas like HR, finance, administration and facilities will start moving out.”
(Names of employees have been changed on request.)
Source: mydigitalfc
IT market
Hiring mails are the latest spam
Hackers are now increasingly using the new buzzword – Twitter – to dupe internet users. In the last month, security solutions firms have found new job spam messages that use Twitter as its tool to expand, which in turn entices the user to click the URL to view the details of the bogus opportunities.
For instance, spam messages containing Twitter URLs, had subjects like N3 Earn Extra Income! One of the spam messages doing the rounds says — “Have you heard about Google taking in workers online? I read it at ajobwithgoogle.com Very Interesting!” Yet another one says — “US Surveys is looking for the position of a social shopper”.
“While job-related spam has been prevalent since the recession, Twitter is now being used to lure internet users. These spam emails talk about part-time jobs from big brands,” said Abhinav Karnwal, product marketing manager – APEC, Trend Micro.
Victims are usually offered an amazing job and money, with or without experience. Sometimes they look for a money mule, where they’ll launder stolen money through your account, giving you a percentage. Sometimes, they promise to pay your salary into your account, but transfer money out instead, said Roger Thompson, AVG's chief research officer. They also lure potential money mules to help transfer money by convincing them that they are genuine jobs.
Symantec’s Shantanu Ghosh, VP – India product operations, Symantec, says a large number of Twitter accounts are being used and they seem to be a mixture of hijacked accounts (quite old, and have genuine looking updates) and false accounts set up purely for the purpose of spamming.
Incidentally, India has jumped to the third position in terms of spam volume in 2009. According to Cisco’s annual security report, the country saw spam messages of 3.6 trillion in 2009, 130.4 per cent rise over 2008’s 1.6 trillion.
For instance, spam messages containing Twitter URLs, had subjects like N3 Earn Extra Income! One of the spam messages doing the rounds says — “Have you heard about Google taking in workers online? I read it at ajobwithgoogle.com Very Interesting!” Yet another one says — “US Surveys is looking for the position of a social shopper”.
“While job-related spam has been prevalent since the recession, Twitter is now being used to lure internet users. These spam emails talk about part-time jobs from big brands,” said Abhinav Karnwal, product marketing manager – APEC, Trend Micro.
Victims are usually offered an amazing job and money, with or without experience. Sometimes they look for a money mule, where they’ll launder stolen money through your account, giving you a percentage. Sometimes, they promise to pay your salary into your account, but transfer money out instead, said Roger Thompson, AVG's chief research officer. They also lure potential money mules to help transfer money by convincing them that they are genuine jobs.
Symantec’s Shantanu Ghosh, VP – India product operations, Symantec, says a large number of Twitter accounts are being used and they seem to be a mixture of hijacked accounts (quite old, and have genuine looking updates) and false accounts set up purely for the purpose of spamming.
Incidentally, India has jumped to the third position in terms of spam volume in 2009. According to Cisco’s annual security report, the country saw spam messages of 3.6 trillion in 2009, 130.4 per cent rise over 2008’s 1.6 trillion.
IT market, Wipro
Wipro ties up with Ariba Inc
IT major Wipro on Tuesday announced its partnership with Ariba Inc, a leading spend management solutions provider, to help companies
across India accelerate their spend management initiatives and the results that they deliver.
Under the terms of a newly formed alliance, Wipro will leverage Ariba's on-demand sourcing solutions to help its clients drive procurement process efficiencies and savings that positively impact their bottom line, a release said.
"The economic crisis has taught us lot of things, the most common of them being that companies must procure goods and services for less", said Ramakrishnan R, vice president and Global Practice Head, Wipro Consulting Services.
"By joining forces with Ariba, we can help companies mature their procurement processes in ways that create superior financial impact for their organisations", he said.
Wipro will leverage Ariba sourcing on-demand to expand on the strategic cost containment services that it provides to clients and deliver sourcing services through which companies can effectively lower their costs on a wide range of goods and services.
across India accelerate their spend management initiatives and the results that they deliver.
Under the terms of a newly formed alliance, Wipro will leverage Ariba's on-demand sourcing solutions to help its clients drive procurement process efficiencies and savings that positively impact their bottom line, a release said.
"The economic crisis has taught us lot of things, the most common of them being that companies must procure goods and services for less", said Ramakrishnan R, vice president and Global Practice Head, Wipro Consulting Services.
"By joining forces with Ariba, we can help companies mature their procurement processes in ways that create superior financial impact for their organisations", he said.
Wipro will leverage Ariba sourcing on-demand to expand on the strategic cost containment services that it provides to clients and deliver sourcing services through which companies can effectively lower their costs on a wide range of goods and services.
Recession
ArcelorMittal could cut 10,000 jobs: Report
ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, could cut 10,000 jobs worldwide next year to boost productivity and reduce general expenses by around $500 million, French newspaper Les Echos said on Monday.
The company, which currently employs 285,300 people, wants to regain lost market share and has a goal for general expenses to account for less than 3.5 percent of revenue, the paper said, citing trade union representatives who attended a European workers committee meeting on Dec. 9 to 10.
ArcelorMittal said in an e-mailed statement it did not want to comment on the figures mentioned in the report as they were not final.
"During ArcelorMittal's plenary meeting with its European Works Council last week, company representatives discussed the possibility that the business could expect some global workforce reductions next year due mainly to natural attrition and optimization of production," the statement said.
The company has already moved to slash thousands of jobs earlier this year, amid the steel space suffering the impact of the global economic downturn.
The company, which currently employs 285,300 people, wants to regain lost market share and has a goal for general expenses to account for less than 3.5 percent of revenue, the paper said, citing trade union representatives who attended a European workers committee meeting on Dec. 9 to 10.
ArcelorMittal said in an e-mailed statement it did not want to comment on the figures mentioned in the report as they were not final.
"During ArcelorMittal's plenary meeting with its European Works Council last week, company representatives discussed the possibility that the business could expect some global workforce reductions next year due mainly to natural attrition and optimization of production," the statement said.
The company has already moved to slash thousands of jobs earlier this year, amid the steel space suffering the impact of the global economic downturn.
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