Did you say `trained personnel'...?

Look who’s inviting India’s IT and BPO moghuls. Beachy Sri Lanka. They are calling Indian ITES and BPO companies to invest in the island nation claiming that the country would provide competitive edge with its large talent pool of trained personnel available at lower costs.

Here’s what its minister for export development and international trade G L Peiris has to say at a FICCI conference in Chennai. “Indian companies can invest in Sri Lanka to oursource their projects here. We have a large talent pool of trained personnel avilable at lower costs. Outsouring of projects here will significantly help Indian companies reduce operational costs as well as offset the effect of rupee appreciation against the dollar”.

Hey, wait a minute. Did he say a large talent pool of `trained’ personnel…? Parse the word `training' and see where he allots real estate for your BPO. If it is in Jaffna or Mullaitheevu, you’ll save money on security guards. The word `training’ means something entirely different there. In that part of Sri Lanka, they train differently. At age 3, you handle a pistol. At 6, you know how to hurl a grenade. At 7, you launch a missile from your shoulder. Every call center guy you hire could as well be your security guard. The upside…? You can give those `other’ guys a run for their money if they ever try to blow you up.

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