Adults cannot be trained, they can only be enabled to learn. Therefore, trainer should redefine their roles as facilitators. Discuss.

case Learning at TCS ata Consultancy Services (TCS) is an information technology services company T starea offshore delivery model for IT services. Its core values are integrity, leading change, excellence, respect for the individual and learning and sharing. Its mission is to help customers achieve their business objectives by providing innovative, best-in-class consulting, IT solutions and services. Its vision is to be among the global top 10 by 2010. Today, with a presence in 34 countries across 6 continents, and a comprehensive range of services across diverse industries, TCS is one of the world's leading Information Technology companies. Seven of the Fortune Top 10 companies are among its valued customers. The Learning and Development (L&D) centre at Thiruvananthapuram was established in 1998 by TCS, a company which invests about 4% of its annual revenues in training its workforce. It has 18 classrooms, a library, an auditorium, a conference hall, discussion rooms, and about 300 personal computers connected to servers. The centre has the capacity to train nearly 650 people, and has been a training ground to a very large number of TCS campus recruits since 1998. Whenever there is a larger influx of trainees due to an increased demand, the training is replicated at other locations. Initial Learning Programme New engineering recruits undergo a six-week 'initial learning programme' (ILP) at the Thiruvananthapuram facility operated by the company. The ILP aims to transform engineers from diverse disciplines into software professionals and to initiate them into the TCS way of life. The L&D activities at TCS are totally competency-based. Since the business is driven by competency, learning, which involves acquiring competency and bridging competency gaps, becomes a prime mover for the company's revenue. TCS recruits come from higher learning institutions and TCS enables them to blossom into potential consultants during this programme. During the programme the new hires are groomed to shed their 'campus frivolousness' and assume their new roles as professionals and corporate citizens. For the freshers, this is a heady period during which they learn a new language, acquire professional skills and are taught to conduct themselves in different cultural settings. For instance, the Life Skills segment of the curriculum enables participants to appreciate other cultures and handle survival situations. It includes tips on personal grooming, global business etiquette, table etiquette, oral and written communication and technical writing and presentation skills. Recruits are taught to cultivate interpersonal and team-playing skills in a multicultural environment. Contd... between what academia produces and what is expected from recruits from the ILP is a must even for people graduating from elite institutions. Because there $350 different skills, they need a common minimum programme that will equip them for they create software from an industry perspective. Also, while each project may require professional point of view. ILP at TCS creates a process orientation a discipline when Since campuses alone cannot fits needs. TCS also sources its people directly from kind of project. They also have to know about TCS processes and the TCS work outure Apart from this, experienced professionals are hired to Ruffil specific needs. These the market. Thus, the last quarter of the years reserved for training such directions lateral hires get some TCS orientation but they Quy move into project specie acclimatization, sometimes at the project location Methodology and Content make them interactive and lively Communication includes a lot of listening drills and important, don't dominate the sessions. Pole plays and other mechanisms are used to The ILP is quite different from a trecional teaching programme Lectures, thought getting used to accents, besides experiences and anecdotes. In addition the students study German, French or Japanese The Challenge thelles neforiv in teaching Indian associates about the culture of other countries, but also inching non indian associates about the culture of India and other nations. The programme naturally needs to be customised for the audience For example, in the US, there are differences in the way the curriculum is offered depending on the location, either on the East ar WestcoastThe programme takes no account the university that the associates have come from and the curreulum they have undergone, Interestingly, the median of instruction is always English, even in non-English speaking countries. This is because of means national nature of the English language in which the world does its business. The soft skills element forms 10 percent of ILP The technical component comprises 50 percent, while TCS orientation and processes for the remaining 20 percent of the curriculum Foreign Language Training The Foreign Languages Initiative (Funan LAD process takes care of the language training needs of all TCS recruts. Currency. It offers a choice of three languages Japanese, German and French. In a company like TCS, which is so large and where allocations and deputations are so complex, it may sometimes be difficult to practive identity a group going to Hungary or Germany well in advance and conduct focused training. This is taken care of by introducing Fu at the ILP stage The courses offer a first-level sensitation to the language. They provoke cunicom about the language and culture, and enable participants to interact in basic surviva situations. These include things like introducing oneself in a personal and profession setting, greeting rituals, fixing and cancelling appointments, issuing, accepting and refusing invitations, leave taking, apologising, etc. After the course, participants can choose to enhance their learning at the Language Corners, which are extensions of the library, at the branches. These contain language materials, CDs and audio aids, dictionaries and culture videos, meant to reinforce what was taught in the ILP. Most branches also hold refresher classes. At ILP, foreign languages are being seen as an instrument to ensure cross-cultural sensitivity, tolerance, and respect for other cultures and people. The attitude will help enhance the TCS global culture. Ultimately, as associates travel to foreign countries and seek to transform themselves and those around them, they will learn that the limits of their language are the limits of their world. Other Programmes The L&D group in TCS does not limit its activities to ILP alone. It also handles the Continuous Learning Programme (CLP), the Foreign Languages Initiative (FLI), Leadership Development Programmes (LDP) and the Academic Interface Programme. CLP caters to the entire workforce base of TCS. It has mainly two streams, technical and processes related, and domain-specific and functional. The LDP has several modules that are intended for leadership development across three levels and across several verticals. As part of their appraisals, associates (employees) are supposed to fill up a personal development plan. The information is then consolidated and forms the basis for deciding what sort of courses are to be organised. Even though the programme has been designed in a standard structure for participants from IT and non-IT backgrounds, the ILP team reviews it periodically. The programme managers handle need analysis and propose courses to fill any gaps based on the feedback received. Customised programmes for individuals are not possible as the scale of training is a minimum of 10,000 recruits a year. The course content also evolves as the nature of the business changes. Decentralization The Thiruvananthapuram centre cannot cater to the needs of all the new recruits. The company has, therefore, worked out alternative arrangements in cities like Bhubaneshwar, Coimbatore and Hyderabad. There are other changes in the offing. As the number of people recruited overseas increases, it may be necessary to have induction spaces at overseas centres. Already TCS has four ILP centres in the US, China, Budapest and Uruguay. These centres have their own faculty, but the ILP team still looks after the curriculum and tracks the overall progress. Professional Value Add The ILP team has introduced Professional Value Add (PVA), a novel initiative to assist recruits in their desire to become good professionals. The team encourages recruits to Contd... add value to their batoh by behaving professionally or engaging in an activity become group victories. And an individual defaults teguts shergy suffers others. Participants are given certain guidelines on how to behave Individual ILP team to consideranducing Learning Value Add through which participants end of the training the best BanchiseerdedThe success of PVA has gros encouraged to share leaming Questions 1. 2 What are the posebne aiheeste de sa cost and time dertify the areas in ching can be introduced to replace the training Adults cannot be seen in te len Therefore the should redefine faciliteters Discuss