``We plan to offer training through our Internet site on the lines of the NIIT Netvarsity which has been offering degree and diploma courses on the Internet for the past three years now,'' says NIS Sparta president Sanjeev Duggal.

The initiative spearheaded by the company's career education division is targeted at a wide variety of people such as students, professionals, organisations and housewives interested in upgrading their skills.

The initiative will kick off in February this year with the Microsoft Sales Specialist Credential programme being available on the Internet. As per a tie-up with the US-based Microsoft corporation, NIS Sparta is the only other company authorised to deliver the Microsoft Sales Specialist training besides Productivity Point International. Offering the MSS programme on the Internet will help the company expand its reach in other countries like Europe, Africa, the middle East and Asia. These are the countries the company plans to focus on.

A variety of courses such as personality effectiveness, selling skills, consumer behaviour, customer service and employee appraisal will be launched on the site subsequently. ``Short skillet driven programmes with certification will be made available on the Internet before May this year,'' says Duggal. The company will offer course-ware, role-plays and certification on the Net. Although no indication is given about the cost of the programmes on the Internet, it will be made affordable to attract maximum registrations. ``The courses are not likely to be expensive,'' informs Duggal.

NIS Sparta has two divisions, corporate training and career education. With offices in India, Sri Lanka and the Middle East, the company claims to have trained over 75,000 people in the past eight years. Corporate training is at the heart of the company's strategy. As part of this, ``the company offers a complete range of training to help organisations increase their sales effectiveness and retain their customers,'' says Duggal. Most of the programmes offered by the company are sourced from NIS's international partners, Huthwaite International and Carlson Learning Company.