Some 1,000 software managers from south China's Shenzhen city are to undergo training in India to improve their communication skills and etiquette, reports Xinhua.
The Shenzhen local government inked an agreement Wednesday with the Indian outsourcing solution provider Zensar Technologies Ltd on setting up an organisation to provide courses and work experience for China's software project managers.
The trainees will learn etiquette, communication and negotiation skills as well as international standards for the software outsourcing industry for three months, Zeng Guozhong, director of the administration office of Shenzhen Software Park, told China Daily.
They will go to work for Zensar in dealing with US and European clients for their remaining time in India before their six-month training period ends, said the paper.
The lack of qualified project managers is becoming a serious problem, said Zeng.
"The companies are frustrated, not because they can't win deals, but because they're not sure how to run the projects successfully.
"The project is significant since the human factor is becoming more and more crucial to the development of the city's software outsourcing industry," Zeng was quoted as saying.
"Without sufficient project managers with international experience, the software companies will become less attractive to foreign clients, especially from Europe, the US, and Japan."
The government will subsidize 1,000 such trainees over three years with $1,812 each, or about one third of the total training fee. The rest will be paid by the companies and individuals, said the paper.
The scheme may be applied nationwide in three years, according to Zeng.
The software outsourcing business has grown rapidly in this IT-driven southern boom town riding a wave of foreign companies selecting China as an IT offshore (ITO) and business offshore (business process outsourcing, BPO) destination.
It's estimated that the software outsourcing business generated an output of about $100 million last year, doubling the figure of a year earlier, said Zeng, predicting that annual growth could be maintained at about 50 percent.
According to Gartner Group, China's ITO business is expected to grow at 44 percent annually, potentially becoming a $2.5 billion industry by 2008, said the paper.
Most industry insiders believe China will become India's strongest competitor, which currently has a 90 percent share of the US and European software outsourcing business.
A survey by AT Kearney, a leading consultancy company, suggested that China should improve management skills as well as better language proficiency and education to grab a larger stake in the market.