IGNOU launches PG Diploma in LPO

PG Diploma in LPO, launched by IGNOU on 23rd December, speaks volumes about the growth, job viability and demand of human resource in the legal outsourcing industry.

Legal services sector has in recent years grown multifold. It is expected to employ 15,000 individuals in the next 2 years. A PG diploma in this scenario will be able to train the lawyer with the nuances of the sector and make him/her better understand the dynamics on which it operates. This program is a joint effort of IGNOU’s School of Law and legal talent management house Rainmaker. It would commence from Feb. 2009. The expert guidance of Prof. Dr. N.R. Madhava Menon, founder director of the National Law Universities in Bengaluru and Kolkatta, and of the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, observations of senior representatives of leading L.P.Os and respected members of Indian legal academia have worked together to make this course knowledge rich and corporate viable.

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was established in September 1985 for promotion of quality distance education. The major objectives of this university is to provide higher accessibility of quality education in far flung areas, programs of continuing education, and initiating projects that cater to needs of specific target sections of the population such as women, physically challenged and other minority groups of the society.

Rainmaker is one of the best legal talent management and training organization in India. It caters to the needs of the legal industry by providing services such as executive search and training products tailored according to the demands of the companies.

IGNOU’s step towards providing industry specific knowledge for the LPOs is one of the many steps from which the industry can benefit by having an access to the rich talent base of India. The young demographic profile of India coupled with its rigorous education system and institutions with good reputation in the world’s education arena makes the country the most likeable option for outsourcing. Some of the other reasons according to the ValueNotes survey such as, “large scale cross border transactions, significant financial implications, challenges in transfer of intellectual property, and other domestic legal ramifications” will lead to an upsurge of demand for legal services. In view of this demand “the employee count is expected to reach 55,000 by 2012”. Thereby, it becomes imperative to have the knowledge about the sector and promote its’ further advancement.The nexus between education and business sector is close knit. Each has to understand other’s needs and accordingly plan the future plan of action. For example, IT boom in India saw innumerable computer centers mushrooming in every street corner providing software skills, which were tailored for the industry. With the way the growth graph of the LPO sector is moving up it would be no surprise if history repeats itself!