HCL Technologies (HCL) opened its Global Development Centre in Colombo recently.
The new development centre was opened by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay via a virtual ceremony.
Founder, Managing Director and Chief Strategy Officer, HCL Technologies, Shiv Nadar and President and Chief Executive Officer, HCL Technologies, C. Vijayakumar also participated.
HCL’s office in Colombo will be home to world-class infrastructure, multi-layered data and physical security protocols, and high-end systems to support its global customer base. HCL will primarily focus on offering next-generation solutions to serve major blue-chip organisations.
The inauguration was also attended by Corporate Vice President, HCL Technologies, Srimathi Shivashankar, BOI Chairman Susantha Ratnayake, HCL partners from PwC, officials of SLASSCOM, ESOFT and leading business personalities.
The office in Colombo which currently has a seating capacity for over 650 employees, already has over 100 new HCL local recruits. By the end of November, it hopes to add 600 seats at this centre. HCL plans to deploy about 3,000 people in the coming three to five years of which 1,500 employees will start working in Sri Lanka in the next 18 months.
“We have a strong cultural link up with Sri Lanka. India and Sri Lanka have contributed to each other’s growth and prosperity. Our efforts are focused on creating employment and we plan to establish a very large presence here. I look forward to seeing motivated and energised young Lankans join HCL and help us deliver on our promise – to our clients and to the country,” said Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, HCL Technologies, Shiv Nadar.
The company will help the local workforce ‘stay rooted’ in their native place and invites Sri Lanka expats to come back home and be a part of this transformational journey. HCL will also implement its Work Integrated Education Program to foster growth by actively cooperating with local ICT and engineering institutions to develop and train the local talent pool. For freshers, HCL will focus on hiring A/Level, Higher National Diploma (HND) students through skills training and hiring program.