Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram, Sept. 14 The State Government and the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) has entered into an agreement to launch the Nasscom National Assessment of Competence (NAC) certification programme in the State.

The event took place during the IT-ITeS Industry-Academia Meet 2007 at Technopark here. The Chief Minister, Mr V. S. Achuthanandan, inaugurated the meet and formally launched the NAC programme along with the Nasscom President, Mr Kiran Karnik.

The NAC certification programme is aimed at making available a robust and continuous pipeline of human resource talent. This will be achieved by continuously assessing candidates’ on-key skills through a national standard assessment. This will help screen candidates easily and also provide needed training to candidates.

Inaugurating the meet, Mr Achuthanandan highlighted the role of the Government in bridging the gap between the industry and academia. “The State Government acknowledges that there is a mismatch between the curriculum and requirements of the industry. The Government will ensure that the gap is bridged,” he said.

The IT industry, the Chief Minister said, is non-polluting with lower demand for land. This industry is most suitable for a State like Kerala, which has the highest density of population.

In his keynote address, Mr Karnik emphasised that IT professionals need to upgrade their knowledge base regularly because the IT industry is expected to double its growth over the next three years and it is necessary that professionals are competent to meet the growing demands.

“Kerala has a big advantage as an IT destination with its three international airports, but the State needs to focus on increased connectivity with European countries,” he said.

In his address, Mr K. Balaveera Reddy, former Vice-Chancellor of the Visvesvaraya Technological University, spoke about India’s academic scenario and roles of universities and colleges.

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