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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
26 October 2006
For decades, Indians have gone to Western countries like the United States in search of better job opportunities. Now, there is a small reverse tide of foreign nationals being lured1 to India by rapidly expanding local companies.
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Founder2 of Infosys Technologies N.R. Narayana Murthy (C) with NASDAQ President & CEO Bob Greifeld (6th R) during NASDAQ Remote Opening Bell Ceremony, 31 July 2006" src="/upimg/allimg/070505/1351340.jpg" width="210" border="0" /> Founder of Infosys Technologies N.R. Narayana Murthy (C) with NASDAQ President & CEO Bob Greifeld (6th R) during NASDAQ Remote Opening Bell Ceremony, 31 July 2006 |
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Craig had never heard of Infosys, or ever thought of moving to India. But he became curious after his university advisor3 told him the company had an excellent track record. After some research, Craig applied4 for a position, and is now residing at the company's state-of-the-art training center in the south Indian town of Mysore.
"I said this is a great opportunity to travel to India, there is a world-renowned training program they have here in India, and it was mostly the experience on the resume that you have traveled to another country, worked for an international company," he said.
Craig is not alone. He is one of 126 American graduates hired by Infosys this year from universities across the United States. And Infosys is one of many Indian companies recruiting foreigners. Indian employers are offering a broad range of jobs, from executives who can provide specialized5 skills, to low-level young people who can answer the telephones in a language other than English.
The trend of Indians seeking work abroad is still very much active. But India's National Association of Software and Services Companies says there are now more than 30,000 foreigners working in India at technology and outsourcing companies, with another 20,000 spread around such industries as hotels and aviation.
Some have come in search of a new experience, others because a stint6 in India will look good on their resumes. Yet others, such as airline pilots, are attracted by remuneration that is better than the pay they could expect back home.
Infosys, headquartered in Bangalore, is one of the world's largest information technology consulting and services companies, with more than 60,000 employees worldwide. The company says it plans to recruit hundreds more students from undergraduate and business schools in the United States and Britain during the coming year. After a six-month training program, they will work for a time in India, and then have the chance to be posted to one of the company's offices abroad.
This rising demand for expatriate workers is largely the result of India's emergence7 as a global business powerhouse. Over the past two decades, as economic reforms have taken effect, Indian companies have spread overseas, particularly technology businesses. These companies need the cultural perspective, international education and language skills of workers from different countries.
Another, smaller part of the demand for foreigners is the result of the more recent domestic economic boom. There is a growing middle-class, Indians are traveling more, and India's airlines, for example, have hired 350 foreign pilots over the past several years to fly their growing fleets. But most of the foreign hiring is being done by companies with a global customer base.
The head of human resources at Infosys, Mohandas Pai, says such recruitment is aimed at giving the company a diverse workforce8 that can "better connect with the company's customers," most of whom are in the U.S. and Britain. He says the trend of hiring foreigners can be seen across a range of Indian industries.
"Bangalore itself has 10,000 expats working in the IT industry itself. And we are seeing a growing trend of Indian companies picking up people from the U.S., U.K., Europe and getting them to India to work in their businesses here across manufacturing, textiles, the gem9 and jewelry10 industry, airlines - it is a very great move," he said.
The massive outsourcing industry, which provides overseas clients with the likes of administrative11 work and telephone services, has hundreds of young foreign employees on its payroll12, some doing nothing more specialized than answering telephones in their native languages. This has been fueled by the industry expanding its traditional customer base from the U.S. and Britain to European countries where English is not the primary language.
About 20 foreigners work at Tecnovate eSolutions, a Delhi arm of a London online travel agency. They come from Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, and France. Foreigners like these don't bring executive-level expertise13, and don't receive executive-level pay, but the company's human resources head, Vineet Panchhi, says their familiarity with the culture and language of countries where tourist clients are based is an asset.
"The advantage we also get is that these guys are available to serve niche14 markets of certain languages, which are not taught well in India, or are very rarely available," said Panchhi. "And a lot of these foreigners are now ready to move to India, and India isn't such a third world country any more in the minds of people who come from either Europe or America."
Kris Lakshmikanth runs a recruitment company, Headhunters India. He says as corporate15 India acquires a higher profile, the number of queries16 his firm receives from professionals at the junior- and middle management-level based in the United States or U.K. has increased dramatically. He says Indian companies are now willing to offer globally competitive salaries, and an India stint is regarded as desirable.
"If you work in India for a couple of years, it helps your career, whether you are in Wall Street or technology companies," he noted17.
For many of the young foreigners who take the plunge18, India is an experience they appear to enjoy.
Katrina Anderson has come from the United States to train with Infosys after graduating from the University of Notre Dame19 in Indiana. She says the state-of-the-art company campus where the trainees20 stay is a complete contrast to the small, south Indian town of Mysore, where the campus is located.
"I expected to see a lot more poverty, and there is a lot more music and hustling21 and bustling22 and not so much pollution, so we really have a small-town way of life here, which is really charming," commented Anderson.
Indian companies say the diversity that is provided by their foreign employees will be immensely useful as they seek to expand operations into new countries.
1 lured | |
吸引,引诱(lure的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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2 Founder | |
n.创始者,缔造者 | |
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3 advisor | |
n.顾问,指导老师,劝告者 | |
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4 applied | |
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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5 specialized | |
adj.专门的,专业化的 | |
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6 stint | |
v.节省,限制,停止;n.舍不得化,节约,限制;连续不断的一段时间从事某件事 | |
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7 emergence | |
n.浮现,显现,出现,(植物)突出体 | |
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8 workforce | |
n.劳动大军,劳动力 | |
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9 gem | |
n.宝石,珠宝;受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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10 jewelry | |
n.(jewllery)(总称)珠宝 | |
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11 administrative | |
adj.行政的,管理的 | |
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12 payroll | |
n.工资表,在职人员名单,工薪总额 | |
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13 expertise | |
n.专门知识(或技能等),专长 | |
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14 niche | |
n.壁龛;合适的职务(环境、位置等) | |
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15 corporate | |
adj.共同的,全体的;公司的,企业的 | |
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16 queries | |
n.问题( query的名词复数 );疑问;询问;问号v.质疑,对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 );询问 | |
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17 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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18 plunge | |
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲 | |
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19 dame | |
n.女士 | |
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20 trainees | |
新兵( trainee的名词复数 ); 练习生; 接受训练的人; 训练中的动物 | |
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21 hustling | |
催促(hustle的现在分词形式) | |
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22 bustling | |
adj.喧闹的 | |
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