Digital internships in India with TCS now open to UK graduates

UK graduates can now apply for 12-month paid digital internships in India as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) officially opens its programme to applicants.

The TCS offering, first announced in November, is part of a wider British Council programme to offer 25,000 young people from the UK experience and training in India.

The company will recruit 1,000 UK graduates over the next four years and fly them to India for the internships. The graduates will receive training to prepare them for working in the digital world.

The deadline for submitting applications is 11.59pm UK time on Thursday 31 March.

At the London launch of the scheme, Priti Patel MP said young people are entering a highly competitive, and increasingly internationalised, job market.

“We need to ensure that the UK remains competitive in this global digital economy,” she said. “And to do that, we need to invest in our young generation and ensure they have the right skills to secure the best jobs. 
 
“And where better for them to gain this experience than in the world’s fastest-growing economy, at one of India’s biggest companies.”

British Council CEO Ciarán Devane said UK interns would gain valuable international experience. “In particular, during these internships they will develop the skills required to succeed in the global digital economy,” he said.

TCS’s UK head Shankar Narayanan said the UK’s talent pool is too shallow. “Talk to employers, businesses, investors and government and it quickly becomes clear what the biggest barrier is to the UK achieving its potential,” he said.

“This means that businesses are struggling to find the digital expertise they need to drive innovation and growth.”

Narayanan said TCS plans to offer a number of the recruits permanent roles with the company once they return to the UK.

Separately, TCS has set itself a target to train 100,000 staff over the next 12 months through an in-house digital learning platform.

The company created a learning platform to deliver the training and said last July: “The new digital learning platform and allied infrastructure will enable ‘any time, anywhere’ learning in a cloud environment. 

“Our focus remains on making ‘TCSers’ proficient in new technologies, giving them the tools to be more productive and build an engaged and diverse team of global professionals,” said TCS global head of human resources Ajoy Mukherjee.