The Philippine Call Center Industry is targeting $50 billion in revenues by 2016. It sure is a huge sum for the BPO industry of the country, but attainable nonetheless.
Considering the performance of the national IT-BPO (Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing) industry in hitting last year's target, it is predicted that the Philippine Call Center Industry will do no less 4 years from now.
According to Benedict Hernandez, director of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), the IT-BPO sector will be a $25-billion industry by 2016. This prediction is also due to the industry's 20 percent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate). The Philippine Call Center Industry is said to capture 10 percent of the global IT-BPO market share, contributing 9 percent to the country's economic growth.
The Philippine IT-BPO industry ended 2011 with $11 billion in revenues, translating to a 24 percent improvement from the 2010 revenues. For 2011 alone, the industry exceeded the 20% CAGR. The industry has also provided employment for 638,000 people, a 22% increase from last year's employment rate.
The Philippines has certainly stepped up its game, ranking number one in voice services and being the most preferred location for contact centers. This accomplishment is further indicated in studies by notable firms, such as Tholons.
To enhance the favorable results the figures had shown, the Contact Center Industry of the country needs to develop its pool of talents. Doing so will consistently provide the BPO companies with the right workforce.
In Manila, Cebu, and other major cities, the demand for outsourcing services in these locations is growing at around 20 percent; however, the number of local university graduates is growing at only 3 percent. University graduates are the main source of supply for the demand of BPO services. Also, only 5–8 percent of the graduates are "hire-able," as reflected in government data; this stresses the need to re-engineer the country's educational system.
The Philippine government has changed its 10-year compulsory education system into the K-12 system; adding two years will match the country's Asian rivals and, more importantly, improve the capabilities of the future professionals of the nation.
“The challenge is to be able to supply the human resources to support the industry both from the entry level to middle managers and executives,” said Trade Secretary Gregorio Domingo.
It's good to know that the government is supporting the BPO service providers in recognizing the challenge of finding, choosing, and appointing the right people for the call center companies.The companies belonging to the Philippine Contact Center Industry also face the challenge of constantly improving its workforce. One of these companies is Taking You Forward, Inc. (TYF, Inc.).
To meet the challenge, TYF, Inc. has formed a department with three support groups responsible for the acquisition and development of the company's manpower.
According to Tholons, aside from making sure that there is a steady stream of qualified employees, it is recommended that the country should maximize its BPO and KPO (knowledge process outsourcing) segments.
KPO refers to outsourcing services in the areas of research and development, financial research, insurance claims, paralegal and medical content, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals.
The Philippine government has charted ICT (information communications technology) development programs to achieve the 2016 $50 billion target.
"We aim to harness Philippine competitive advantages to attain world leadership in four more fast-growing services and double our market share in three others," said Alejandro P. Melchor III, deputy executive director for ICT Industry Development of ICTO (Information and Communications Technology Office).
The four emerging services of the BPO industry are the following: (1) healthcare information management outsourcing, (2) finance and accounting outsourcing, (3) human resource outsourcing, and (4) creative process outsourcing.
A fair chunk of the Philippine population is composed of nursing students and registered nurses, making healthcare information management outsourcing a service our country can cater to. The Philippine healthcare outsourcing segment grew by 172 percent in 2011.
IT services belong to one of the fastest-growing sectors in the Philippine BPO industry. Filipino IT professionals have made their mark in the globe by gaining the preference of foreign businesses to carry out outsourced IT functions.
Efforts of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and programs of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) have been directed towards the enhancement of the ICT workforce.
With a pool of competent professionals (albeit in need of further development), a supportive government, and thriving BPO service providers, the Philippines stays attractive to foreign investors. Surely, the billion-dollar target of the BPO industry is not too far away.
About the Author
Publish on 06/10/2012
is a self-employed blogger and copywriter from the Philippines who loves writing and is always happy to share her passion for blogging.
Older Post:
The BPO industry funnels a lot of foreign investment in the country. It's a stable sector that provides a lot of jobs for a wide variety of applicants.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by. Many of the foreign investors eyeing Philippines to relocate its business operations which they believe that the country has so much to contribute in the success of their business. With this, more jobs await Filipinos and is expected to help the economy with billion dollar target is not too far away. Thumbs Up!
ReplyDelete