The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector has a future in Mauritius. The Director of Training of Teleforma (Mauritius) Ltd, Saoud Baccus, believes in it and his company is launching its formal academy on 25th June. However, he makes it clear that nothing will really happen without a determined manpower and a change in mind-set?

Teleforma is already delivering courses to its employees but the new academy should be more structured ? starting from scratch. ?What we will strive to offer to unemployed people is a holistic training package,? says Saoud Baccus, pulling from his strong background in teaching languages in academia. The courses, run by an American trainer, will not only include the teaching of English language skills but also interpersonal skills, communication, empathy, confidence-building and assertiveness.

The focus, as far as language skills are concerned, will be on speaking, reading/comprehension, writing and listening. ?We will run it, keeping in mind pedagogical research. This has led us to limit instruction to four hours a day because research shows that a small dose of learning on a longer period is more profitable than the contrary. Beyond four hours, the mind doesn?t assimilate much,? comments the Director of Training. The courses of a total of 160 hours will run over an eight-week period from Monday to Friday. The company does not believe in a one-sitting exam and this is why there will be weekly assessments and no final exam. Saoud Baccus also makes it clear that the students will have access to the latest equipment including a PC and a new pronunciation software.

Teleforma is ready to take any unemployed young person who ?has a good attitude, is a hard-worker and has an acceptable level of English that the company will be able to develop?. Basic English skills remain a must for Teleforma because ?we only have eight weeks to train the students?. For the other qualities like communication skills and customer care, ?the training will help student develop them?.

Even though the level of English is one of the main conditions for acceptance, Teleforma will accept students with a Higher School Certificate (HSC) or with a School Certificate (SC). Among the 60 students we will have per day (30 in the morning and 30 in the afternoon), 20 will come from the SC. ?I believe in giving people a second chance,? says Saoud.

<B>Monthly stipend</B>

Moreover, the American trainer will have an assistant who will help those who can?t follow the training at the same pace. ?Research shows that 40 % in a classroom need more time. Basically, this depends on the learning style of each student.? Courses are given free of charge. Students will receive a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500 during the training period. This will cost the company Rs 20,000 per head but the latter hopes to gain with full-fledged employees after the training period. ?If they are successful, and really want to work hard, we will be ready to offer them a job. But first they must do well in the program, and to do that, they must work with us. We are here to help them acquire the right skills for the job,? he adds.

In any case, the Director of Training is convinced that the academy will benefit the country at the end of the day, as the skills learnt there can be used ?for the rest of their lives, complementing life-long learning?.

However, a major obstacle may mar the bright future of this academy: the Mauritian working culture. ?There is quite a paradox here. We are told that there is a substantial level of unemployment but, when people are offered jobs, they do not show up,? regrets Saoud Baccus. A number of people still do not want to work odd hours and during weekends. This is partly due to the fact that some simply don?t need to work because parents still provide for them.

?If they don?t want to work, they will not starve,? comments the Director of Training. But it is also a matter of culture. ?Mauritians are resistant to change. They have always seen their parents working from 9 am to 5 pm and they don?t want to go outside that model. This mindset is starting to change but it might take some time??

Hopefully this change will not take too much time because the sector still benefits from advantages like low labour cost compared to Europe or America and it would be a pity to miss the boat!