...the BPO status

Steady growth for BPO industry seen in the medium term

By: Abigail L. Ho
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Monday, June 20th, 2011

 

MANILA, Philippines – The business process outsourcing industry is expected to grow steadily over the next three to five years, as local schools and universities continue to churn out graduates skilled enough to support the demands of the sector.

According to Tim Hinds, vice president for human capital at TeleTech Holdings Inc., the industry has now gone back to its growth path, following a slight slowdown that started two years ago when the global economy was stricken by a recession.

“Everybody tapered down when the economy shifted two years ago, but now we’ve seen the growth kick back in. Even during the recession, there weren’t many closures, and not many people in the industry lost their jobs. Now we’re back to where we were before the crisis hit,” Hinds said. “Looking at the current labor pool, there’s more than enough to support the growth of the industry. Growth can be sustained over the next three to five years.”

Based on the Business Processing Association of the Philippines’ Road Map 2011-2016, the BPO sector has the potential to post at least $20 billion in revenue by 2016, and may even hit $25 billion with stronger public-private partnership.

A $20-billion industry can provide employment to as many as 900,000 individuals. A $25-billion industry, on the other hand, may generate jobs for as many as 1.3 million people.

But to ensure that there will always be a steady stream of qualified labor, Hinds said would-be BPO practitioners should also exert time and effort to improve themselves.

Near-hires, or applicants who almost made it through the screening process but just fell short on some requirements, should be willing to spend some time on sharpening their skills a bit more, he said.

“We’ve done some near-hire training over the years and we’ve gotten mixed results. Our strategy is to identify a core group of baseline competencies. If people are willing to invest time, we’ll invest in infrastructure so they can build their competencies to meet our expectations,” Hinds said.