(Post 24/06/2006) Nowhere is this more evident than in Shanghai. The Aptech Joint Venture has set up 11 Training centres in Shanghai, which provide training on Software Engineering, Internet, Network Engineering etc. The Chinese students and working professionals are catching up on the knowledge services boom that has already begun. And the eagerness of students and professional to acquire these skills is reflected in the large number of students flocking to these centres.

The first sight that hit you on arrival in Shanghai is the skyline with skyscrapers and towers. Shanghai is a stimulating city swirling with rapid changes. Since market restrictions were lifted, Shanghai has remodeled itself into a city that is sophisticated, innovative and living a life it has never lived before and emerging as an attractive destination for the international business community!

Shanghai city is the epitome of the success of private entrepreneurship in a communist environment. The most striking aspect in Shanghai is the number of people wanting to turn entrepreneurs. According to a recent survey among Shanghai’s working population, there is one private business owner out of every 30 people of employable age. A lot of the quality manpower is engaged in its own ventures.

China realizes that for the Service Industries like Banking & Finance, Quality manpower is a key requirement other than infrastructure. A command over Chinese and English language, IT tools and Western style of management remain key areas to be address for improving the quality of manpower and bringing it up to international standards. And the government is visibly addressing this issue. This is evident from the attention that is giving to training in the areas of English and IT. And this is one of the factors for the success company like Aptech in China.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Shanghai. The Aptech Joint Venture has set up 11 Training centres in Shanghai, which provide training on Software Engineering, Internet, Network Engineering etc. The Chinese students and working professionals are catching up on the knowledge services boom that has already begun. And the eagerness of students and professional to acquire these skills is reflected in the large number of students flocking to these centres. While Shanghai is keen to become the commercial powerhouse of the East, unlike others, the Chinese do not adopt the Western style on the management in toto. What works best in China is a blendedmodel of management systems the basic Chinese management system with added concepts of western management systems. They take elements from it that can be blended with their style of functioning. Localisation is the mantra to success in China. This is also reflected in the wise words of Deng Xiaoping – the architect of modern China, who give the mantra to the government and private enterprises alike when China was opening up in 1978. Look at the best countries, best systems, and localise and workthrough the best systems with suit our country and our people. Do not close the window of our minds – keep it open to look at what is best in the world.

Culture is critical for any international metropolis and the planners of Shanghai know this very well. To help make Shanghai a new cultural centre for China, for Asia and even for the world, the issue of IPR protection is being addressed. The Chinese are aware that making Shanghai’s retail environment conductive to legitimate content business, in whatever forms (physical or digital), would give a thrust to creativity and innovation for the city and the enterprises would benefit further.

Making the environment green and sustainable energy is another key factor now being addressed as a challenge by government officials in Shanghai. Shanghai government is already taking adequate steps by planning suburb towns in all districts so that there is no congestion in a particular area – and a planned development for its people, from transportation to equitable distribution of property and land development. Anyone who spends a couple of days in Shanghai, come back with the conviction that Shanghai will succeed in implementing all this and it may well become one of the best business capitals of the World 2020

Pramod Khera
CEO and MD of Aptech Ltd