The first batch of British graduates recruited by Infosys Technologies, India’s second-largest software services provider, arrive in Bangalore this month to begin a six-month software engineering training course designed to create a more globalised workforce.

The journey of the 25 graduates from universities including Nottingham, Bath and London to a corporate campus at Mysore, near the IT hub city of Bangalore, represents a new trend in outsourcing as the Indian IT sector looks overseas for staff because of rising domestic labour costs and more sophisticated client service needs.

After completing an educational programme and project experience, the graduates will be returned home to work in entry-level jobs in Infosys’ offices in the UK.

Their recruitment is part of a drive by the Indian company to attract global talent as it increases its international presence; about a third of its 60,000 employees are outside India. Two hundred and fifty graduates from 82 universities in the US, a market which accounts for 60 per cent of group revenues, have already completed the programme.

The employment of British students comes as Infosys expands its operations in Europe, which now accounts for 26 per cent of sales compared with 9 per cent in 1999.

In July, Infosys agreed a $250 million outsourcing deal with Royal Philips Electronics that included taking over the Dutch group's captive service centres in India, Thailand and Poland.

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