IT/BPO industry will surpass $ 1 b by 2015

by Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

The IT/ BPO industry will surpass the $ one b income mark by 2015 said Virtusa General Manager/Vice President, Madu Ratnayake. He was addressing the launch of Virtusa EDEX careers portal recently.

He said the IT/BPO industry will reach great heights due to innovation and the vast diversity of services offered by the industry. The IT/BPO industry is a fast-growing industry in Sri Lanka.

The IT and BPO industry is projected to grow by 26 percent in 2011 with export earnings of $ 390 m in 2010. The industry has set a target of $ 1 b revenue with employment for 100,000 by 2015.

Ratnayake said acceleration of human resource capacity development is a pre requisite to realise this growth target in the industry. The Virtusa EDEX careers initiative is aimed at building capacity for the industry. The careers web portal will focus on connecting Sri Lankan youth to job opportunities in the knowledge service industry for them to become global citizens. The IT/BPO industry offers work, global exposure, fast paced career progression and an opportunity for people to become entrepreneurs.

Virtusa will enhance and incorporate the existing EDEX website, redesigning and revamping it into a more robust and scalable platform that will provide fast activation and prompt outcomes.Virtusa is a global IT services company providing consulting systems integration and application outsourcing. EDEX Chairman, Kamal Abeysinghe said, EDEX appreciates the vast improvement and value additions Virtusa has introduced to the virtual platform.

Youth will benefit from the invaluable resources available online and save time, effort and money.

EDEX is the foremost corporate social responsibility project of the Royal College Old Boy’s Union. The single largest platform for higher education and career guidance will enable Sri Lankan youth to be globally competitive through right education and market relevant skills which will lead to gainful employment.

Job search, psychometric testing applications, new content management for administering advertisements and career guidance support are some of the new features included in the web portal.

Virtusa Associate Director-Delivery, Sanath Wickremasinghe said Virtusa is pleased to partner EDEX as the IT partner and added that the partnership will offer a host of benefits to youth in Sri Lanka.

“The site currently has a monthly hit rate of around 3000-5000 users here and abroad. We are confident that with the launch of the revamped and enhanced site there will be more traffic generated”, he said.