A Pune-based company has inked an agreement with the Shenzhen government in China to train its software professionals in India with a view to transforming the booming city into the outsourcing capital of that country.

Some 1,000 software project managers will undergo the training under a government scheme, Director of the administration office of Shenzhen Software Park, Zeng Guozhong said.

The agreement was signed with Zensar Technologies Ltd, an RPG Group company, on Wednesday to set up a Centre of Excellence, an organisation to provide courses and work experience for China's software project managers, 'China Daily', on Thursday, quoted Zeng as saying.

The trainees will learn etiquette, communication and negotiation skills as well as international standards for the software outsourcing industry for three months of the six-month programme, Zeng, whose office selects candidates for the programme, said.

They will then work for Zensar and deal with its US and European clients for the remaining period of the training, he added.

Zeng admitted that Chinese software companies were facing problems in winning major outsourcing deals from Western countries.

"The companies are frustrated, not because they can't win deals, but because they're not sure how to run the projects successfully. The lack of qualified project managers is becoming a serious problem," Zeng said.