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This segment spells affluence to many and the future looks good for both the industry and those aspiring to work in a BPO, says Ambika Nagaraj

Young graduates have never had it so good on the professional front. The BPO sector has opened up a plethora of opportunities for youngsters. As per the Nasscom-Mckinsey report the total global opportunity is at US$ 148 billion with the Indian IT/ITES industry set to achieve US$ 60 billion by 2010.

Mysore too has now joined the bandwagon with a number of BPOs setting shop here. BPO companies provide employment opportunities to fresh graduates and spend considerable time, money and effort on training them suitably. Youngsters from Tier II towns and cities form sizeable numbers in BPOs (approximately 30 to 35 percent of the workforce).

BPOs in the city have not only are given the youth careers, the good pay packets that have come from them, have in turn fuelled the economy too. The youth in Mysore spend their money on branded products in malls, or a cup of cappuccino in a coffee shop. “It is good to know that many BPOs will be coming into the city. Now we need not go to Bangalore in search of jobs,” says Vinay Kumar S. an employee of Comat Technologies Ltd.

Almost every BPO employee in the city echoes the same opinion, and the biggest payoff of BPOs in Mysore- the men rarely do night sifts and the women never do the graveyard shift. This is because unlike the BPOs in Bangalore and other metros, they do not handle live calls and are mostly into medical transcription, legal transcription and online services.

Rizwana Saleem, working at SPI says, “I have been working in the company for about nine months now and it feels really good. I enjoy every bit of my job because both fun and work go hand in hand here. The pay is also good, so there’s nothing more I can ask for”.

Shivananda K S, HR Manager at Comat Technologies Ltd says, “We started in 1958 and have more than 5,000 employees working for us now. We invite some of the best experts to train them. Recently, we had American experts given accent training to our employees. Those who want to work for BPOs need to develop certain skills like good communication, management and voice culture apart from the training we provide. However, we find Mysoreans very talented and quick learners.”

Swathi Madhav at SPI has chosen to work in Mysore, “I have been working here for the past three years and am really happy. So I do not want to shift elsewhere”. Arun C, an engineering graduate confides “Bangalore weather is disturbing. Apart from that, I also applied for jobs in many companies, but most of them asked me for experience and eve offered a very thin allowance. So I decided to work for a BPO and I have absolutely no issues.”

This tier-II city which is growing rapidly on the IT front is already proving to be a force to reckon with in the BPO industry.

To work in a BPO……