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Until recently, U.S firms have been quick to pick up budding talent from India by offering incentives like high salaries. But things are about to change now that the recession has shuffled the offshore outsourcing business.
In fact, Indian firms are now enlisting employees from the global marketplace – a paradigm shift indeed. One of the drivers of this new trend is none other than outsourcing giant Infosys. The IT firm is now spending close to a whopping $100 million, spanning over a year, in order to train about 25,000 overseas employees and college grads. According to published reports, Bangalore-based Infosys is keen on recruiting candidates from top-of-the-list Ivy League schools like Harvard.
Indian firms are setting up shop abroad as offshore offices and recruiting employees locally. Due to a labor shortage in India, qualified professionals are seeking opportunities elsewhere. It is safe to say that Indian firms are no longer considered back office outsourcing firms. These firms are now capable of processing into various areas i.e. research and development, design, and other sophisticated business applications. And all of this requires skilled employees.
The growing trend among U.S. firms was to hire employees from India, since skilled workers abound in the country. However, with the recession looming and a new administration in the White House, Indian outsourcing firms have had to come up with new strategies after the number of visas allotted to foreign professionals have been capped by U.S. law.
Gary David, an associate professor of sociology at Bentley College, Boston told siliconindia.com, “They (Outsourcing firms) said, ‘Let us train people in the U.S. or India and make them an extension of our offshore team, in the U.S.’ So, Americans are now becoming the offshore component for foreign firms.”
“We’re hoping to bring a different kind of diversity to our workplace. For us, diversity is a way to encourage innovation,” said Bikramjit Maitra, Head of Human Resources at Infosys, reports siliconindia.com