Kolkata: The Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, or IIM-C, will train 80-100 graduates in management and insurance starting September, who would then be offered jobs as sales managers at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
The one-year executive training programme, which includes 10-month classroom coaching at IIM-C and a two-month internship at ICICI Prudential, is the result of a partnership between one of India’s premier management schools and the private sector insurer.
“There is a severe talent constraint (in the sector). An effective solution is a strong industry-academia partnership,” said Judhajit Das, chief of human resources at ICICI Prudential.
Insurance is one of the largest employers in the service sector, and manpower demand in banking and insurance is expected to grow from 1.2 million in 2008 to 1.4 million in 2010, Das said. ICICI Prudential alone plans to employ some 400 new managers every year for the next few years.
“This course would be as rigorous as any of our other postgraduate courses. There would be 10 faculty members teaching 21 subjects over three terms,” said Saibal Chattopadhyay, dean of IIM-C. Applicants would need to take a written test, take part in a group discussion and appear for an interview before gaining admission. The course will cost Rs210,000.