Bangalore: In a move to provide quality manpower to the booming ITES-BPO industry, Karnataka on June 12 said it has initiated a "skill aptitude test" for young recruits aiming at a career in the sector.

The test, designed in consultation with the industry, will assess a person's conversation skills, accent, clarity and grammar, Karnataka IT and BT secretary Vivek Kulkarni said at the "Nasscom's India ITES- BPO strategy summit 2003".

He said the Board for IT Education and Standards (BITES) would conduct tests for aspiring talent.

"The tests would really distinguish between the right talent who are eligible for the BPO industry and others," Kulkarni said.

He said a pilot programme with America Online and Dell, both of whom have call centres in Bangalore, had been done with "good success".

"We may do the test in some more companies to assess the needs of the industry," Kulkarni said, adding, a training initiative was also being planned to cater to the burgeoning sector.

He said a similar scheme for IT services, Yuva.com, had trained over one lakh students.

PTI