Tony Chen, manager of Learning Services for IBM's China Region, told China Daily on Sunday in an interview: "Aimed at training 100,000 professional software engineers for the country's IT sector in the coming three years, we will introduce a new training programme - the Advanced Career Education (ACE) programme, designed especially for IT employers."

IBM made the announcement about the training programme during the Sixth China International Fair for Investment and Trade, which began on Sunday in the coastal city in East China's Fujian Province.

Chen added: "Both the central government and local governments should immediately introduce efficient support, in terms of policies and capital, to upgrade the overall technology level of the sector and take advantage of the bright prospects."

One important reason why China lags behind India in the development of the software industry is China's lack of professional software engineers, said Chen. He said that the Indian Government has invested a lot of money in the sector for training professionals over the past few years.

Chen also acknowledged that China's IT sector has an enormous potential market for training, and IBM is still seeking other partners nationwide to grab further market share in the future.

The firm's ACE programme is a new educational initiative that will promote a holistic and scientific approach to learning software development, said Chen.

IBM Learning Services is part of IBM's fastest-growing business, IBM Global Services. According to an International Data Corporation report dated July 2001, Learning Services is considered the world's top IT education and training provider in the world.

(China Daily September 9, 2002)