Category: BW Education

A specialized initiative designed to provide opportunities for individuals starting in the tech industry

Commencing a profession in technology can be a daunting and challenging task, especially for those who are new to the tech world. This challenge becomes more complex, especially when you are about to decide to join such a program right after class XII.

TECHBEE – HCL’S EARLY CAREER PROGRAM is a specialized initiative designed to provide opportunities for individuals starting in the tech industry. The program is a unique blend of classroom and on-the-job training components. It offers a wide range of resources and support systems that can help individuals build their skills, gain experience, and ultimately launch their careers in technology.

Here are a couple of reasons which make TechBee – HCL’s Early Career Program a compelling choice for class XII students:

FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE: One of the most significant advantages of this program is the financial independence it offers students. Students neither have to worry about arranging a hefty fee as they can get loans from financial institutions HCLTech has tie-ups with. Further, students are also paid an attractive stipend of INR 10,000 per month during the internship, which takes care of their out-of-pocket expenses.

HIGHER EDUCATION: Imagine, after class XII, you do one year of TechBee training, and then while you work as a fulltime employee of HCLTech, you can pursue higher education from some of the leading universities like BITS Pilani, Amity University, KL University, IIM Nagpur and SASTRA. Now, while your friends would graduate from college and start looking for a job, you will have a higher education degree and four years of experience. Isn’t that awesome?

JOB ASSURANCE: This is an advantage no other course can offer. HCLTech offers this course to Class XII completed students and postcompletion of the program; the job opportunities are with HCLTech only. TechBee is an exclusive job program for individuals seeking full-time jobs after high school. Candidates undergo 12 months of training for entry-level IT jobs and, on successful completion, start their career in entry-level roles across Software Engineering, Infrastructure Management, Test Engineering, Design Engineering and Digital Process Operations at HCLTech offices across the globe.

MENTORSHIP: Students who join this program get access to mentorship and guidance. Participants in the program are paired with seasoned professionals in the industry who can offer advice and support as they navigate the early stages of their careers. This can be incredibly helpful, particularly for those still learning and trying to figure out the best path forward.

REAL-LIFE PROJECTS: Another essential aspect of the TechBee – HCL’s Early Career Program is the opportunity to gain hands-on experience. Participants in the program can work on real-world projects and collaborate with senior professionals in the industry. This knowledge transfer is a valuable experience and helps individuals build their portfolios, which can be crucial when starting work.

HCLTech first introduced this program in 2017; since then, thousands of students have joined and benefitted from the program.

(To know more about this, please visit www.hcltechbee.com)

(A marketing initiative by Open Avenues)

Employability and Empowerment: Leadership’s key responsibilities 

Today, India has one of the largest youth populations and multi-generational workforces in the world. Around 2 crore youth will join the workforce every year in the foreseeable future. They may come from diverse backgrounds, but they all have one striking commonality – they want to be employable and have a good quality of life. Leaders across spectrums have the responsibility to empower as many communities as possible by strategizing programs and platforms that tangibly impact the lives of the youth of today who represent the future.

Bridging the ‘skills gap’: The importance of early-stage skills development 

The skills gap that exists in the industry today cannot be ignored. Diverse industries are speaking out about how there is a fundamental mismatch between the skills that employers rely upon in their employees and the skills that job seekers possess. This mismatch poses the challenge for individuals to find a job and for employers to get the right talent. The success of skilling programs is influenced by the level of receptivity and skilling readiness of students. How much can they learn? More importantly, how much should they unlearn? If adequate skills development is introduced early on in their educational journey, there is less to unlearn, making the entire process more seamless and efficient for all.

Coming together of an ecosystem: Cognizance and Communication 

The entire ecosystem – industry, education and government must come together to prepare youth for the digital future. This can be made possible through cognizance and collaboration.

Cognizance: The ecosystem must continue to evolve to understand the psychology behind learning. While children aged 8 experience rapid cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development and learn the fastest, adolescents are deeply influenced by their environment with students in middle and high school needing opportunities to develop deeper learning competencies such as critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Studies indicate that there is a strong correlation between the development of cognitive abilities the access to opportunities for problem-solving. Research suggests that the neural networks in the brains of adolescents develop when they are given opportunities to perform complex mental tasks which aids cognition, emotion-regulation and memory skills. Students who do not have access to these opportunities will find it challenging to engage in higher-order thinking as adults. Hence, it is the responsibility of the ecosystem to understand learning behaviours and ensure that students are given age-appropriate learning skills that challenge them adequately to develop holistically.

Collaboration:  The eco-system – industry, education and government should communicate about what they can do to support one another. When the industry updates the educational sector on what skills are relevant and what requirements are needed, it enables them to upgrade the curriculum to deliver what is needed. Finally, collaboration goes a long way in establishing programs and platforms that propel change which brings tangible results.

HCL TechBee, an ‘early career program’ is one such collaborative effort that has resulted in one of the most practical hybrid learning programs in the industry today. Through such programs, students are given the opportunity to learn and practically apply what they are learning in the classroom in a ‘live’ workplace during a day. They take their learning seriously because it will be practically tested at the end of the day and learning is fun because they are exposed to real-time skills that the industry needs now! The chance to ‘earn while they learn’ seeds fiscal responsibility from a young age.

Great Indian philosophers like Chanakya have propagated practical approaches to learning from ancient times itself. The idea behind the concept of skilling is to ‘plant the seed’ of a practical approach to learning from a young age and train young minds to absorb what they need to be efficient while seeking livelihood. Vocational training and skilling are deeply ingrained in the culture of India. In the Gurukulam and Paatashala culture, children were exposed to a hybrid model of learning and practically applying their skills through the course of the day.

While education gives knowledge, skilling gives jobs. Education cannot be replaced with skilling and both should be differentiated and understood as two parallel tracks upon which an individual’s career is shaped. They go together; independent yet inter-dependent. While an express train and regular train both reach the same destination, the express train is faster and more efficient. The need of the hour is a program that is holistic and has integrated early-career programs in the industry today that enables a student to complete their journey faster, without compromising on the knowledge and exposure needed to be successful. Such hybrid integrated learning and development models that are evolving will tangibly benefit from the effective implementation of skills development from an early age.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors’ and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house

In an exclusive interaction with BW Education, Sanjay Gupta, Corporate Vice President, HCL Technologies & Program Director – HCL New Vistas, talked about the firm, Tech bee 2020 program, and more.

Throw some light on the career opportunities for young students in a post COVID world.

Right Skills, Right Experience can help people navigate all kinds of uncertainties. In a post COVID world, a student armed with a degree having relevant IT experience with future-ready skills will be prepared for any eventuality in his/her career.

HCL TechBee – Early Career Program, is a work-integrated higher education program. Under this 12-month training program, a student is trained technically and professionally for entry-level IT jobs at HCL. While on their job, they get the opportunity to pursue higher education from BITS Pilani/SASTRA.

Elaborate on the tie-up with the top universities – BITS Pilani and SATRA University – How has it helped?

With our prestigious tie-ups with top universities like BITS Pilani and SATRA University, the students while working at HCL, may also enroll in a Graduation Degree program offered by these universities without having to leave their jobs. This helps them get gain relevant IT experience while also pursuing higher education degrees.

How has this program enabled students to achieve financial independence?

TechBee program enables students and makes them self-reliant, by proving a stipend (out of pocket expenses) of Rs 10,000 per month during the entire period of training. Post that students get employed as full-time HCL employees. This makes them financially independent right after they complete their schools. Students who do well during the training also get fee waivers.

What is the number of students who have successfully completed TechBee program and are now working with HCL?

So far, over 2000 students have successfully completed the TechBee program and are now working with HCL.

What is the need for skilling and re-skilling in this difficult time and how HCL is in sync with Govt of India’s Skill India mission?

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit several industries and has almost left us parched. To give our youth a post-COVID future, it is important to utilize this period to develop new skills that will help our youth to take forward their careers. TechBee program is a higher education program which is in sync with government’s “Skill India” mission as it offers on-the-job training to equip students with future-ready skills while also giving them opportunities to pursue higher education from reputed universities.

How many students are going to be offered a job at HCL this year?

All deserving candidates who clear the selection procedure shall join TechBee program and post successful completion of training they will be placed for entry-level jobs in HCL Technologies. In this Financial Year, we propose to hire over 3000 students PAN India, subject to them meeting eligibility criteria and clearing the selection process.

Financial assistance for the course fee – given the current economic situation, if HCL is offering anything that could be a breather for the students/parents?

The TechBee program is designed with the aim to hire the best talent and enable them to achieve financial independence. This is reiterated by the fact that during the entire period of training, enrolled students are paid an attractive stipend so that they are self-reliant, start earning early and can take charge of their lives. What’s more financial assistance in the form of bank loan is available where it is designed in such a way that there is no burden on students or their parents.