The government is coming out with a communication campaign to position Business Process Outsourcing as a career of choice.

Officials said such a move was being taken to ensure that the fast-growing sector did not face a manpower shortage. According to estimates by the National Association of Software and Service Companies, the Indian business process outsourcing sector will generate 1.1 million jobs by 2008, against 170,000 now.

Outsourcing and India: Complete Coverage

But studies by human resources consultants have revealed that people do not look at business process outsourcing as a long-term career option.

The proposed campaign, which would include advertisements, road shows and seminars, would help to change this, officials pointed out. They also said the government was roping in industry associations like Nasscom and the Confederation of Indian Industry in this project.

The campaign, which will take off after the Assembly election process is over, will be co-ordinated by the ministries of information technology and human resources.

The programme will address areas like the employment and growth potential in the business process outsourcing sector. "There is a need to project the employment potential in the sector and promote it as a career of choice," said an official.

The promotional campaign will target smaller towns and rural areas. "Business process outsourcing is an accepted profession in urban areas and big cities. People in smaller towns and rural areas do not know about the job opportunities in this sector. The campaign will aim at creating awareness about this profession in such areas," said the official.

The official said the government felt that the country needed to have an overall game plan to beat competition and increase its share in the global market. "One of the biggest issue that the domestic business process outsourcing sector needs to tackle is the availability of quality professionals," said the official.