New Delhi, January 17, 2008: Educational Testing Service
(ETS), the world’s leading educational measurement and research organization,
and NIIT, a leading Global Talent Development Corporation and Asia’s largest
trainer have entered into a strategic alliance to offer ETS suite of products in
India. The new initiative will enhance employability and provide competitive
advantage to Indian organizations in the global market place.
As part of the strategic agreement, NIIT will have exclusive rights to
offer ETS’s TOEIC® test (Test of English for International
Communication™), TOEFL® Practice Online (TPO), and CriterionSM Online Writing
Evaluation Service–-in India. The multi-year agreement with NIIT will
also enable both the companies to raise awareness of ETS products and services
in India.
The TOEFL® test is the world’s most popular academic English language
examination, accepted by more than 6,000 universities in 160 countries, and the
TOEIC® test is the global standard for communicative English ability in the
international workplace. The TOEIC® test is offered in about 60 countries around
the world. More than 5,000 companies, government and public offices and other
organizations, across the world use the TOEIC® test.
“We are pleased to enter into this strategic relationship with NIIT
and we welcome them as our Country Master Distributor in India,” says
David Hunt, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of ETS’ Global Division.
“This agreement will provide companies, institutions and individuals in India
with greater access to key ETS products such as the TOEIC test, TOEFL Practice
Online and Criterion to help them succeed in the world of education and
business.”
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vijay K. Thadani, Chief Executive Officer,
NIIT, said, “India is poised to be a talent hub for global manpower
needs. In our efforts of developing global talent, we are happy to partner with
ETS to enhance employability of individuals and help large Indian organizations
become more competitive in the global market place.”
The agreement comes at a time when millions of people throughout the world
are learning English; workplaces are increasingly becoming more globally
focused; and workforces are more culturally diverse than ever. In addition,
non-native English speakers outnumber native English speakers by more than
three-to-one, an accelerating trend worldwide.
Through this alliance, NIIT will leverage its Testing and Assessment
capabilities to offer ETS’ tests to students, professionals and job aspirants
who seek to evaluate their English Communication skills for employment prospects
in emerging sectors such as IT, ITES, Retail, Banking and Insurance, among
others in India.
ABOUT THE TOEIC® TEST, TOEFL® PRACTICE ONLINE AND CRITERIONSM
SERVICE
“TOEIC®” is the branded name for the Test of English for International
Communication. The TOEIC test is a global standard for communicative English
ability in the international workplace. It is taken by nearly five million
people in 60 countries.
“TOEFL®” is the branded name for the Test of English as a Foreign Language,
and is administered in over 160 countries to persons seeking to enter over 6,000
institutions of higher education worldwide. TOEFL Practice Online is a
web-based simulation test officially provided by ETS, the makers of the TOEFL®
iBT test. TOEFL Practice Online is derived from previously administered TOEFL
iBT tests and provides instant scoring by ETS. Providing a real TOEFL iBT test
experience, TOEFL Practice Online assists TOEFL test takers in becoming familiar
with the test format and measures their readiness for test day.
The CriterionSM Online Writing Evaluation service is a web-based,
instructor-driven, comprehensive instructional tool that helps students plan,
write and revise essays. The system provides annotated diagnostic feedback and a
holistic score to both student and instructor within 20 seconds so that students
can quickly review, revise and resubmit essays.
ABOUT ETS AND ETS GLOBAL
ETS is a nonprofit organization with the mission to advance quality and
equity in education by providing fair and valid assessments, research and
related services for all people worldwide. Founded in 1947, ETS designs,
develops, delivers and scores more than 50 million tests annually in more than
180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide.
ETS’ Global Division and its related subsidiaries have offices around the
world to meet the needs of non-US based entities in Asia, Canada, Europe, Latin
America, the Middle East and Africa. In serving individuals, businesses,
educational institutions, government agencies and membership organizations
worldwide, ETS offers valid and reliable assessments, research and related
services such as customized solutions workforce products and services, and
research-based teaching and learning tools.
ABOUT NIIT
NIIT, Asia’s No. 1 trainer and leading Global Talent Development
Corporation, offers learning and knowledge solutions to 5 million students
across 32 countries.
Leading IT magazine Dataquest has conferred upon NIIT, the Top IT Training
Company Award 2007. Rated among India’s Superbrands (2003-05), NIIT’s Individual
Learning Business offerings include: Industry-endorsed programs for students
seeking careers in IT: GNIIT, Integrated ANIIT for Engineers (IAE) and Advanced
Technology Programs for IT professionals.
For working professionals, NIIT Imperia, Centre for Advanced
Learning, offers Executive Management Education Programmes in
association with Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) at Ahmedabad, Indore and
Kolkata.
NIIT Institute of Finance Banking & Insurance (IFBI),
formed with equity participation from ICICI Bank, offers programs to develop
talent for the banking industry.
NIIT offers turnkey IT integration program for schools. NIIT has provided
computer-based learning to over 5000 government and private
schools.
NIIT’s Corporate Learning Solutions, offers integrated learning solutions
(including strategic consulting, learning design, content development, delivery,
technology, assessment and learning management) to Fortune 500 companies,
Universities, Technology companies, Training corporations and Publishing
houses.
Element K delivers learning solutions for customers and
partners through a tailored combination of catalog learning products,
technology, and services. The offerings include: vLab®:
hands-on labs, instructor-led courseware, comprehensive e-reference libraries,
technical journals, and KnowledgeHub™: hosted learning
management platform.
NIIT together with Element K is now the first and the best choice
for comprehensive learning solutions, worldwide.
For more information, visit the NIIT website at
www.niit.com.
For media queries, please contact:
ETS
Communications & Public Affairs
Princeton, New Jersey 08541-0001
NIIT