Finishing Schools Hit H1B Fortune Door

The massive quota hike in H1B visas from 115,000 to 195,000 by the US Administration last month, has come as great news for not just techies but also finishing schools.

City-based Y-Axis.com, a vertical H-1B portal, has set up a finishing school to provide an all-round hands-on American experience to H-1B techies, before they begin life in the land of dreams.

The Y-Axis Global Finishing School, the brainchild of Y-Axis.com CEO Zavier Augustin, will provide H-1B aspirants with a one-month intensive training of U.S. work culture and lifestyle.

“We found and tapped the gap in the market in training of techies to help them chart a global career. The demand for Indian IT professionals is so high in the U.S. that a high supply can only be created by giving a thrust/push to the professionals by providing them the required skill sets and resources,” says Augustin.

“It’s like one of those Rapidex Language speaking courses,” he says, adding that the training will be a composite of U.S. work and life experience, Internet experience and career counseling.

The course, which is open for admission around the year, will guide candidates on how to conduct themselves, speak, find a job, sign a contract, and everything that will help them work and live there.

“They live a dotcom experience here. The course will provide an orientation with American immigration laws, contractual and legal issues, and groom them in civic sense, dining and dressing etiquette, and mannerisms – so that they can easily integrate with the society there,” Augustin says.

Currently, Augustin will be conducting the program. But, he plans to franchise it out after documenting and streamlining it. At the end of the course, which is priced at Rs. 15,000 per month, the techies will know how to negotiate and market themselves during interviews, have a through understanding of H1B laws, be able to sign employment contracts confidently, and integrate with the Americans.

“It will make them confident and everything that IT professional are required to be out there,” Augustin adds.