Wipro is increasing its commitment to the South African IT market with the unveiling of a permanent learning centre in Johannesburg, which was unveiled at the graduation ceremony of 40 interns.
"Our plan is very clear, we want to create a global workforce and in our small way address the problem related to skills in the IT field that heavily relies on global skills," said Shailendra Singh, business director of the Africa region at Wipro.
He added that relying on global skills was a short-term solution, and he believes that SA and Africa have to become sustainable, with local talent producing results.
"Now in our third year, the Wipro programme, which aspires to bridge the gap between campuses and the IT industry, is steadily building a presence as one of the premier technology internship programmes in South Africa. Interns are given invaluable access to live client projects, and to the wealth of Wipro's best-practices," said Saurabh Govil, senior vice president, human resources at Wipro.
The internship programme is a core element of Wipro's growth strategy for Africa. It gives the opportunity to attract the best young talent, while making a meaningful difference to the lives of hundreds of graduates, noted Govil.
"This is our way of contributing to society and the industry that we operate in by, making sure we are able to provide the skills resources which might not be utilised completely by us but utilised by the industry as well," said Singh.
According to Singh, the students work on live projects for three months to gain work experience. "We have taken a graduate from the street and schooled him on new ways of working; in terms of technical skills and behavioural skills and not only providing theoretical training but also work experience," he added.
He explained that Wipro is trying to create a cross pollination where the graduates' experiences are not limited to SA and Africa. Wipro wants to send graduates to the US, UK and India so they can learn global skills and come back as global ambassadors.
Wipro employs more than 80% of the graduates and the rest are taken in by the company's customers, who see their skills when they are deployed for live projects.
"After their graduation we absorb as many as we can and the remaining students are taken by our customers," reports Singh.
"South Africa and Africa is one of Wipro's identified investment markets where we want to create a hub addressing Africa and global customers, creating a workforce that can compete at a global scale explained Singh.
"Our vision is that in five years these graduates should be able to bring the global experience back to SA and take leadership positions," he concluded.
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