Fluency in English has always been regarded as a passport to better career prospects, true. But today the demand for English-speaking workers has gone up as never before, thanks to the opening of newer avenues in the information technology enabled services (ITeS) industry. And the issue is not only about speaking English ? it is essentially about communication, of acquiring the skills to present or sell an idea.

Be it BPO jobs or technical writing, good communication skills are a prerequisite. Moreover, non-humanities students are now getting an opportunity to utilise their language skills, especially in jobs like those in technical communication that require a mix of a knowledge of technology and a flair for English. Take Garfield D’Souza, a computer engineer who loves English literature and has a penchant for writing. He started his career at a call centre, moved on to copy editing at a technology magazine and finally settled down as a technical writer at a leading IT company. “I do have a technical background which is one of the requirements in technical writing jobs, but I’ll say that a command of English is of paramount importance,” says Garfield.

So what are these language skills that we are talking about? No, you don’t need a flamboyant, literary style of writing. “What we do look for is a basic proficiency in English. This would include a sound application of English grammar, good comprehension and an ability to write simple, correct and functional English,” says P. Rufus, head, technical communication, Tata Consultancy Services, adding that technical communication practitioners have varied educational backgrounds ? English literature, commerce, science, engineering and business administration, to name some. Basically, technical writers are required to explain highly specialised technical information to laymen in simple language. They are the people who write manuals for products like software programs, cell phones, TV sets, etc.

The starting salary for a technical writer is around Rs 15,000 a month and it can go up to Rs 7 lakh per annum as you gain experience. “About 15,000 technical writing jobs are expected to be created in the next five years,” says Pervin Malhotra, director, CARING (Career Guidance India), Delhi.

There are other avenues in the IT industry as well. “Apart from technical writing, IT organisations need writers in two other areas, namely, training and e-learning and corporate communication,” says Sairaj V., senior manager, content and design services, Cognizant Technology Solutions. “There is a great demand for instructional designers who create training material. This skill is required in training departments to create effective course material,” he adds.

Instructional designers are critical resources in e-learning. They are responsible for creating online content. Corporate communications, on the other hand, deals with internal communication (like writing newsletters), among other things.

I t also includes external communications (managing websites, writing press releases, etc) and marketing communications (writing brochures, presentations, etc). “The main skill required is a proficiency in written English. One can’t make grammatical and spelling errors. One also must know the difference between US and British English,” says Sairaj.

Knowing the difference between American and British English is essential if you are planning to work in places like call centres. A neutral accent, or an accent shorn of the mother tongue’s influence, is required to deal with people in countries like the US and the UK. “Apart from call centres, there are several other jobs in the BPO sector. You can go for back office operations where you have to speak and write in English because you have to communicate with clients,” says Rajesh Tolia, CEO, Kaizar Foundation, which offers various vocational training programmes. You can start in such jobs at a salary of Rs 6,000-7,000 per month. And you can rise up to the level of quality control managers, earning upwards of Rs 4 lakh per annum.

“We are increasingly seeing that even students who have studied in English-medium schools find it difficult to communicate in simple English. So training in English communication skills does help,” adds Tolia.

Teaching English is thus part and parcel of BPO and call centre training. “We usually get mixed up when it comes to consonants and vowels. For example, most people are likely to say ‘peek’, when they actually mean to say ‘pick’. Hence, intonation or accent training is a vital part of our teaching programme,” says Pooja Banerjee, counsellor, call centre training, Webel Informative Limited.

In order to expand the English-speaking base and to cater to the growing demand for learning the language, several institutes offering English language courses have sprung up across the country. Add to these a host of online language training programmes. But you should be able to distinguish between mere ‘spoken English’ coaching centres and ‘communication schools’, say experts. The need of the hour is not learning to mind one’s p’s and q’s, but being able to use the language to communicate effectively in your workplace. “It’s not about speaking, but learning the language in total,” says Indrajyoti Sengupta, director, Inlingua, Calcutta, which has had around 1,800 students since it opened in the city in 2004.

“We believe that we need to apply, not learn English. In West Bengal, we have seen that there is almost no environment of speaking the language. We try to create the environment and help build language confidence. Students have benefited from our courses. They have got jobs in call centres and other companies,” says Sengupta.

“We have plans to introduce special kinds of English courses which will be helpful in industry,” says Chandana Guha Sarkar, principal, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Calcutta.

So if you are dreaming of making it big in an increasingly globalised world, purging your English of the influence of your mother tongue should be a top priority.