This year’s college graduates appear to have more option for employment, with a wide array of new job options in the market, among them in the field of information and communications technology (ICT) and in the back-office services such as business process outsourcing (BPO).
The government has transformed the Philippines into a “global powerhouse” in the BPO industry. The administration highlighted their major accomplishments in both human and physical infrastructure for the ICT-BPO sector during President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s recent Cyber Corridor Super-Region Tour.
If the trend continues, the Philippines is well on its way to becoming No. 1 in the ICT-BPO industry, considering the telecommunications and digital infrastructure that have already been put in place and the English proficiency and technical skills of young Filipinos.
The BPO sector, which was a fledgling industry in 2001 employing a mere 2,000 workers, has become a “sunshine industry” generating half a million jobs and US$7.3 billion in revenues in 2009, which is about five percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Part of the success of the BPO industry in the Philippines can be attributed to the government mandate given to concerned government agencies to ensure the competitiveness of the ICT-BPO sector.
Among these agencies is the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) that works closely with the Business Process Association of the Philippines, the Medical Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines, the Animation Council of the Philippines, and the Philippine Software Industry Association, in the formulation of training standards and in designing appropriate training programs. Last year, these training programs produced 25,846 graduates, 93 percent of whom are now call center agents.
A sustained supply of quality trained workers, the continued effort to enhance the English language proficiency of the Filipino workforce, and government policies that continue to attract investments by leading companies worldwide guarantee the sustained growth and success of the ICT-BPO industry. And this will help resolve structural unemployment by equipping even the out-of-school youth and the underemployed with the knowledge and skills required to fit existing job vacancies.
Source:http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/260266/business-process-outsourcing-sector-a-sunshine-industry
