Tech One Global becomes first Lankan BPO to set up shop in Hambantota IT Park

Tech One Global will set up a 50-seat IT/BPO business becoming the first Sri Lankan company to set up operation in Sri Lanka’s dedicated IT/BPO Park in Hambantota, a far-reaching development mission envisioned and spearheaded by MP Namal Rajapaksa.

In a media announcement, Tech One Global CEO Wasantha Weerakoon stated that they were indeed honoured as a truly home-grown local company to become the first in this initiative to enable jobs and opportunities for over 50 youth in the thriving BPO sector of the country.

Weerakoon stated that plans were already underway to commence operation by February for which the training and skills development work had already been completed.

The Hambantota IT/BPO Park, the first of its kind, is being established under the guidance of Namal Rajapaksa with the vision of making the IT and BPO industry a key enabler of new jobs in rural Sri Lanka.

The park aims to provide 100,000 employment opportunities including over 40,000 seats in direct IT/BPO related jobs for the youth from the entire southern region by 2016. This will contribute directly to the national vision of have 10% of the country’s labour force working in IT and IT related jobs by 2020.

MP for Hambantota District Namal Rajapaksa recently announced the formation of the public-private partnerships that is coming forward in the setting up of the Hambantota IT/BPO Park that included leading industry players such as Tech One Global.

Among other significant resource providers is the Vocational Training Authority (VTA) who plays the role of training partner, using the globally recognised Microsoft BPO curriculum designed specifically for the BPO industry. In addition, Microsoft Sri Lanka comes on board as a key facilitator, providing the necessary IT resources for skills development of the youth, whilst IDM joins in as a training partner along with the support of SLASSCOM.

The initial set up of Tech One Global will create 50 BPO seats in February, by channelling public sector-related work. With more skilled youth being added to the BPO workforce from the area, they intend to expand operation in to other areas such as legal and financial BPO, etc.

To facilitate the commencement of businesses in the proposed IT/BPO Park, the Government in the recent Budget proposal pledged to make all necessary infrastructure and facilities available at a very low cost in order to attract local and foreign BPO operators to Hambantota.

Speaking further about Tech One Global’s vision in setting up this important project, Weerakoon stated: “We’re extremely happy to be partnering with MP Namal Rajapaksa and leading industry players like Microsoft, VTA, IDM and SLASSCOM to kick-start this project. This will help us make the entire island a skilled IT trained country as opposed to just centralising it in Colombo and will aid our economy and development immensely. The training programme these young BPO operators will undergo is on par with international standards and requirements and we are confident that it will help our BPO industry compete with any other country without a doubt.”

The early stages of the operation are currently underway at a temporary location, with training programmes commenced in January where these young BPO operators undergo job and operation specific skill development training based on the applications they will use, after which the project will be launched with its first 50 seat jobs in February 2012.