Article Summary
Future IT talent refers to professionals who continuously build in-demand tech skills—like cloud, data science, and cybersecurity—to keep pace with digital transformation. This article explores how Wipro develops future IT talent using a three-tiered blended learning program powered by Learning Platform for Business. Readers will gain a real-world model for scalable, continuous technical upskilling.
At Wipro, one of the biggest challenges is keeping up with digital transformation and new disruptive technologies. Wipro is an IT services organization with operations across 57 countries and over 180,000 employees across the globe. I sat down with Anurag Seth, VP & Head of Talent Transformation at Wipro, to learn more about how Wipro approaches technical training across the globe. Anurag frequently asks the question, “How do I continuously help the organization learn?” In this article, we’ll share some of the ways Wipro’s Talent Transformation team is addressing this question.
Wipro’s learning challenge: Staying ahead of the fast pace of technology change
Wipro is an IT services organization, providing IT support across business units such as banking/finance, retail, consumer goods, transportation, and more. In this industry, it’s imperative that all employees be up to date with the latest technical knowledge. Digital technologies are changing every month, so the challenge is to continuously develop new technical competencies in their workforce to better serve their customers. Whether the individual is fresh from college or more experienced, Wipro strives to create a culture of learning where people keep acquiring new technology skill sets at their own will.
Keeping employees up to date on technical skills
In the past, when you learned a new technology, it would take several years before you had to learn something new. Now we are living in a world where technology is evolving at a rapid rate. And in the IT industry specifically, automation is changing and redefining IT as we know it. Wipro feels the need to keep up with the pace of change. Part of this challenge is to stimulate employees’ enthusiasm and engagement for continuous learning. Wipro aims to create a pull factor where employees learn through gamification and engaging digital learning platforms like Learning Platform for Business that keep the excitement high.
Wipro uses Learning Platform for Business to provide a learning resource for employees to be able to learn anytime, anywhere. This allows them to upgrade their skills whenever they feel the need, particularly in the case of technical skills. It might be a specific project they’re working on at their job or a long-term career aspiration. Whatever the reason, they can go to Learning Platform for Business to learn new technical skills. For example, employees using a legacy technology can use Learning Platform for Business to upgrade their skills with the latest technology.
Learning Platform for Business is extremely popular with employees at Wipro. They love the user-friendly interface. Each program is a 5- to 7-minute bite-sized lesson taught by leading global experts. The instructors are able to explain complex technical concepts in a manner that’s extremely accessible to our employees. And since Learning Platform for Business is available anytime, anywhere, on any device, Wipro employees love learning while on the road. For example, when they’re taking an Uber home from the office, they can take a few online lessons. Find out how Learning Platform for Business can help you upskill your employees on the latest technologies.
Wipro’s 3-tiered digital transformation program
Wipro has a 3-tiered digital transformation program. The main technology areas they focus on include cloud, data science, workplace & IT automation, and cybersecurity. For example, cloud skills like Amazon Web Services (AWS) are one of the most popular courses for Wipro employees as part of their digital transformation program. Many employees go on to get certified after taking AWS courses on Learning Platform for Business. Data science skills like Hadoop, R, and Python, as well as cybersecurity and workplace automation tools like Citrix and ServiceNow are also a key part of Wipro’s digital transformation training program. This program integrates online courses on Learning Platform for Business with hands-on learning created by Wipro’s subject matter experts to create a blended learning experience for employees.
Level 1: Awareness. The first level is awareness. Wipro wants the entire organization to speak about digital skills in the same language. They should have an appreciation of the digital skills that are mainstream in business today as well as the new skills that will become mainstream one or two years down the road. Wipro wants employees to keep learning about these new technologies at their own pace and Learning Platform for Business offers a way for them to keep up to speed.
Level 2: Knowledge. The next “knowledge” level focuses on attaining a deeper understanding of digital technologies. At this level, Wipro has programs where it’s a mix of online Learning Platform courses as well as content curated by internal subject matter experts. Through learning capsules, Wipro employees gain a deeper knowledge of these technical skills, enabling them to add real value when working with customers.
Level 3: Deep expertise. For the final step, the level 3 deep expertise program focuses on creating hands-on experience and labs, so employees go beyond theoretical knowledge. Internal subject matter experts create capstone projects, learning assignments, case studies, and virtual labs to help employees gain practical real-world experience using these new technical skills. Level 3 learning usually takes several months to master.
Throughout the journey of moving from awareness to knowledge to deep expertise, Learning Platform plays a critical role in providing support in the first two levels of Wipro’s blended learning program. The online learning courses offered by Learning Platform in level 1 and 2 creates a strong foundation in new technical concepts. Wipro then reinforces this new knowledge with real-life, hands-on experience on the job and in the classroom to prepare employees for actual customer engagements.
Learning Platform speaks Wipro’s language
Wipro has a presence across 57 countries and hires local employees in many of these countries. In some global offices, 90% of the workforce is local. The teaching style of Learning Platform instructors is extremely popular among this global workforce. The bite-sized videos are delivered in a concise and straightforward language that’s easily understood by employees across the world. Learning Platform’s additional features like transcripts and subtitles are especially helpful for employees who aren’t native English speakers. For example, in Continental Europe and Latin America, Wipro relies on Learning Platform’s subtitles and transcripts. In some cases, they’ve also used Learning Platform courses delivered in their native language.
For Wipro, Learning Platform for Business has a unique value proposition that makes it stand out over other partners. Learning Platform for Business presents material in an accessible and engaging way, so there’s a significant pull factor from employees. The platform teaches the latest in-depth technical knowledge in an easily digestible format for learners. Whenever Wipro’s learning team tries proposing courses by their own subject matter experts, employees say again and again they prefer to take it on Learning Platform!