The Higher Education Review

In the year 2000, Nagarajan Pichumani realized that companies in the software testing domains were going to become major players in the market. He immediately established Softsmith Infotech, a company that offers focused testing services and product development services under one roof. He also thought about the fact that there are going to be a lot of companies searching for the right kind of people with the required skill sets and therefore started Softsmith Academy. "We first observe what is important in the specific industry and provide the knowledge of the tools to the person who may need to use them more frequently rather than teach them everything," says Nagarajan Pichumani, Founder and CEO.

Along with a decade of training experience in software testing, Softsmith Academy offers its clients training in software testing and development of tools, performance testing, security testing, SQL and Database testing. Those interested in becoming experts in the software quality domain can sign up for the HP Quality Center. A unique feature about Softsmith Academy is that they provide online training to many people around the globe who are currently working or are very well
experienced. "With online training, we provide specific trainings which our clients require and we provide them with real-time solutions to their problems which they are facing at work which may not be the same for people who are working but have applied for the classroom training," says Nagarajan.

As the company and the academy work side by side, most of the employees who are consultants at the company also teach the trainings to the various batches of students which is seasonal. As the trainers are certified, they are able to explain better to the candidates taking up these courses.

"The trainers explain to the candidates what they have to do in order to complete their project and how at the end of the training they will be able to complete complex tasks with minimal assistance," explains Nagarajan. The company puts the trainers on a constant rotation as the batches of students are also seasonal.

The academy has observed that from June to September, fresh graduates who do not have work experience sign up for the various courses whereas the working professionals do the same from December to March.

"We first observe what is important in the specific industry and provide the knowledge of the tools to the person who may need to use them more frequently rather than teach them everything."

The academy has an impressive track record of conducting corporate training programs for leading IT majors such as IBM, HCL, WIPRO, L&T Infotech, Verizon, Accenture and many others. The academy hopes to decrease the timeframe required to train the candidates and become a leader in the training arena.