This Programme Helps Students Secure Job and Financial Independence Early In Life HCL's Techbee prepares students technically and professionally for entry-level IT jobs in the company where candidates undergo an extensive 12-month training to become software engineers

India has emerged as the IT hub of the world, attracting major IT companies to set their offices on Indian soil. One primary reason that pulled these firms was the availability of a vast chunk of the untapped workforce. There also has been a soaring interest among school going kids to set their foot in the IT sector. However, over the years, admission fees in engineering colleges have skyrocketed, proving to be a hurdle.

To address this issue, HCL launched Techbee—a work-integrated higher education programme that not only guarantees a job in HCL but also provides financial assistance to students.

Launched in 2017, this early-career programme trains and hires students who have completed 10+2 education. The program offers IT engineering jobs by equipping students with future-ready skills, fundamentals of information technology learning, understanding relevant software tools, processes and life skills during these 12 months of training.

It prepares students technically and professionally for entry-level IT jobs in HCL where candidates undergo an extensive 12-month training to become software engineers.

"TechBee was started in 2017. Our idea was to catch the students young and train them on global technologies that make them job-ready. We came up with this programme because we realized there is a huge skills gap in the Industry. In the last two years, I am happy to share that over 2,000 students have done this programme and have joined HCL as employees," said Sanjay Gupta, corporate vice-president and program director-New Vistas, HCL Technologies.

Interested students who wish to enrol for the programme undergo an entrance test followed by an interview round. During the training, enrolled students receive a stipend of INR 10,000 per month, which builds in them a sense of self-reliance.

"Upon successful completion of the training, candidates get to work in prestigious projects at HCL Technologies in areas of application and infrastructure support, testing and CAD Support," added Gupta. The entry-level job in HCL offers a salary of INR 2-2.20 lakh per annum.

If a student secures 90 per cent or above in the training then there will be a 100 per cent waiver on the fees, while a 50 per cent waiver is offered when a candidate scores between 85-90 per cent.

While working at HCL, students may also enrol in the graduation degree programme offered by reputed universities such as BITS Pilani and SASTRA University. Due to the COVID outbreak, the entire programme has been moved to a digital platform