In December, senior staff members from Cambridge ESOL toured India to attend a series of important events organised by Cambridge ESOL in collaboration with the British Council.
The events, with the theme of ‘Connect’, were aimed at strengthening the link between the corporate and education sectors, using the BULATS (Business Language Testing Service) and BEC as qualification benchmarks for graduates entering employment.
The presentations and seminars – attended by senior delegates from higher education institutions and key corporate contacts – were a forum for discussing the current English language skills gap that exists in the corporate and higher education sectors. The widespread adoption of BEC as a standard in language proficiency ensures that college graduates have the English language proficiency needed by the IT and business processing industries.
The tour included visits to schools and further education colleges to see how BEC and BULATS could fit in with their curricula.
TK Arunachalam is the new Cambridge ESOL Marketing Manager for India. TK was appointed in August 2005 and is based in Chennai. His appointment reflects the growing importance of the Indian market. Cambridge ESOL’s candidature in India has grown rapidly in recent years, and this trend is expected to continue. We are involved at the forefront of setting international standards in schools and also in workplace English for India’s rapidly expanding IT and BPO (business process outsourcing) sectors.