Philippine Gov’t and Outsourcing Companies Aiming for Quality Manpower

Thursday, June 13, 2013 Unknown 12 Comments

Philippines is known as the best  place for call center outsourcing, and the constant growth of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry requires the country’s manpower to support this development.

Is the situation beneficial for the jobseekers in the Philippines? 

According to the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), it turns out that the call centers in Cebu and other cities are accepting fewer applicants. Out of 100 applicants, 95 of them are turned down.

Globally known as a call center hub, the Philippines is assumed to have call center applicants who readily have proficiency in communication skills.

The country can meet the required quantity of employees needed by the call center companies; what may be wanting, however, is the quality of the employees.

According to BPAP president Benedict Hernandez, the companies cannot find the right workers.

It is not the lack of demand for power that could cause the declination of the industry but the lack of talent may be the reason, he added.

Philippines is recognized as the world’s third largest English-speaking country next to the US and UK, but the large number of Filipino jobseekers may not be enough to keep the country’s call center companies thriving.

It is not only the familiarity of the English language that could help the applicants. They also need the proficiency of the language, learning ability, speed and accuracy, and computer literacy.

The country prides itself in staying competitive and maintaining high-quality call center services.

To maintain the country’s status, BPAP applied the Global Competitiveness Assessment Tool (GCAT). This tool is used to test each applicant’s behavior, learning orientation, courtesy, empathy and reliability.

They chose GCAT to help the BPO companies in the Philippines be more effective in choosing the best people for the outsourcing services industry.

There were 19,700 students from 79 different colleges in Cebu and throughout the country who went through the screening test.

It turned out that there were only a few who passed the standard of high performers, wherein only 5% accounted for the hired applicants. Having a steady supply of quality manpower seems to be a bit of a challenge for the country’s call center industry.

The supply for manpower is not the country’s problem but the supply for quality manpower.

The country can provide workers for call centers but the industry cannot hire all of the applicants. They need to meet certain qualifications. The industry needs to sort the applicants in order to provide quality service for their valued customers and clients.

To maintain the country’s pride in its BPO industry, the government should also do their part by taking action to answer the demand for quality manpower of call center companies in the Philippines.

On BPAP’s side, Hernandez said that they will take measures to maintain the growing momentum of the booming outsourcing services industry in the Philippines.

About the Author

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Publish on 06/13/2013
Jane is a freelance copywriter, with majority of her work focusing on the outsourcing industry.

• 5 Reasons Philippine Call Centers Overtake India
• BPO Philippines: Training Filipinos to Serve, Not Lead?
• Preparing Cebu’s Talents for Promising KPO Careers

5 Reasons Philippine Call Centers Overtake India

Thursday, May 02, 2013 Unknown 19 Comments

Philippines is recognized as the world’s call center hub and the best outsourcing destination for foreign investors.

Philippines already overtook its counterpart country, India, having a higher amount of call center revenues and number of employees.

It was reported in 2010 that Philippines had $5.5 billion compared to India’s $5.3. Also, the country had more than a half million call center workers compared to India’s 330,000.

Call center outsourcing in the Philippines and India is one of both countries’ economic growth factors. Basing on the stats and with the fact that the Philippine government greatly supports the industry, the Philippines is indeed getting ahead of India.

Here are the evident reasons Philippines has overtaken India:

It is anticipated that the economic growth factors will continue since President Aquino’s government is supporting the development of the outsourcing industry.

Furthermore, Benedict Hernandez, president of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), said that they will take measures to support the booming outsourcing services industry in the Philippines by maintaining its growing momentum.    

About the Author

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Publish on 05/02/2013
Jane is a freelance copywriter, with majority of her work focusing on the outsourcing industry.

• BPO Philippines: Training Filipinos to Serve, Not Lead?
• Preparing Cebu’s Talents for Promising KPO Careers
• Average Won’t Do for Philippines’ BPO Industry

BPO Philippines: Training Filipinos to Serve, Not Lead?

Monday, March 11, 2013 Unknown 18 Comments

Recently, an executive from an IT outsourcing company in the Philippines published a commentary about the current state of the BPO industry of the country.

According to Kevin Leversee, general manager of an Australian start-up IT company based in Pampanga, Philippines, he has observed a dramatic shift in the focus of inculcating the value of education and profession among the Filipino youth.

He saw that with the growth of the outsourcing industry of the Philippines, the amount of support the government is giving enables the universities to focus on courses that will provide the needed skills to make it in the industry. The universities and the government have been focusing on coming up with a better and bigger workforce that can deliver outsourcing services.

Unknowingly, the Filipinos are actually working for the services needed for foreign people and companies to be innovative. But are the Filipinos changing and innovating as well in the process? According to Leversee, no.

Leversee saw that the government and the big players of the industry are so focused on growing the industry now, yet fail to adapt with the new developments that will be beneficial for the future of BPO in the Philippines.

The education given by the universities is not enough to let the Filipino youth go out off the box and innovate, rather, they are educated to work on the services that conform to the industry.

Leversee compared the Filipinos to the students of California’s Silicon Valley where the IT students are trained to come up with their own ideas, apply it, and make a business out of it. The Filipinos, on the other hand, are trained to support the innovations of the inventors (e.g., Silicon Valley).


He does not hate the industry, but he just wanted to make a point that Filipinos should be trained to do more and not just simply be contented by working in one call center company to another.

For him, the BPO industry would have not grown so immense like it is today if not for the cheap labor it is offering to its foreign clients.

“Why is the Philippines big? Because you’re cheap,” said Leversee. There are many other competitive countries who can do the same work or much more that the Philippines does, but still, the clients go for the latter because of the cheap labor.

On the other hand, the umbrella association of the BPO industry, the Business Processing Association of Philippines (BPAP), said that the country is an IT-BPO hub, growing at a much faster rate than other developing economies.

BPAP president Benedict Hernandez said that the BPO industry accounts for 9 percent of the country’s GDP and 10 percent of the global IT-BPO market share. It is number one in voice-based BPO services and number two in non-voice-based services.

Hernandez still has not given any comment regarding Leversee’s “sensitive” commentary, but assured everyone that the country will not only defend its current status, but will also lead the rest of the world in the IT-BPO industry.

About the Author

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Publish on 03/11/2013
Jane is a freelance copywriter, with majority of her work focusing on the outsourcing industry.

• Preparing Cebu’s Talents for Promising KPO Careers
• Average Won’t Do for Philippines’ BPO Industry
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Preparing Cebu’s Talents for Promising KPO Careers

Wednesday, January 23, 2013 Unknown 8 Comments

The BPO industry of Cebu is considered as the province’s hippest industry today. Professionals, both fresh and experienced, flock call centers in Cebu and excel in the different fields belonging to the industry.

As the BPO industry of Cebu flourishes and evolves into higher levels of outsourcing services, so are the needed people to work for the high-end jobs that are being offered by the companies.

Call centers in Cebu initially capitalized on offering voice-based BPO services and other main functions of business process outsourcing (BPO). In turn, Cebu’s call centers have gained much mastery and excelled in the field of outsourcing. The next move is to focus and develop on KPO (knowledge process outsourcing). The jobs entailed in this sector are more specific and need people who possess specific skills in accountancy, IT functions, software development, and the like.

The BPO sector can hire almost anyone who has above-average skills in the English language and analytical expertise. But the KPO sector has more filtered requirements and more rigorous processes in selecting and hiring people.

The government of Cebu has been actively supporting the causes of BPO companies. Cebu’s call centers have been making ties with government offices like the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and DOST (Department of Science and Technology) in coming up with programs to help the young talents of the province in acquiring and developing the skills needed for the outsourcing industry.

The Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) also advises young professionals to try looking into the KPO industry in trying to determine their career path.

BPAP gives the following tips that yuppies can consider in order to have an enjoyable profession in the KPO industry:

1. Know your strengths and weaknesses. This is a stepping stone in determining what career you would want to have in the KPO industry. Your strengths usually lie in your interests and passion. Making your work and passion go hand in hand results to liking and enjoying your job. How fun and easy would it be if you’re paid to work for something that you’re good at and interested in, right?

To do this, start evaluating yourself with the simplest activities that you do; these can include your hobbies, topics you enjoy discussing, or academic subjects you enjoyed the most in school. Simple things can actually relate to any career. All you need to do is make those simple things work to your career’s advantage.

2. Attend workshops or vocational programs. Choose a course, vocational program, or any training that will help you land your ideal job. This is a smart move to ease your way to your dream job.

This course can be related to your determined strength/s and interest/s. This move will make studying easier for you since your passion for the course will help you love the course more. Choose the colleges that offer the best for the study that you will be taking up.

3. Always give your best during interviews and exams. Since first impressions last, make that first impression effective enough to win the approval of the HR personnel who will evaluate you.

Always remember that you will be evaluated according to how you present yourself. Your first appearance, first action, first few words, first tone of voice, first interaction, and the like can be the determinants to whether you get the job or not. However, don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. Remember that being true to yourself is still the most important factor that HR people look into.

4. Use what you learned in school but don’t let learning die. What’s the use of all those sleepless nights of studying if you won’t use it in your job? Put to action what you have learned by applying them to situations at work.

Keep in mind to remember, learn, and apply what you pick up along the way. As the saying goes, “Experience is the best teacher.” Treat your day-to-day activities at work as your new learning module.

5. Go horizontal in learning. Take this direction in learning new skills and finding your niche in order for you to go in the vertical ladder effectively. Instead of just focusing on being promoted by mastering what you do; make it a habit to learn simple yet important new skills about your work every day. You’ll be amazed at how much other skills you can master.

It’s impossible that you will learn everything altogether, but take your time. These skills will complement the ones that you will be encountering on your next job post or after your promotion.

Anyone who has worked in the KPO sector of a call center Philippines houses can attest to the fact of having a fulfilling—if not promising—career path, wherein many opportunities inspire employees to continuously learn and grow.

About the Author

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Publish on 1/23/13
Jane is a freelance copywriter, with majority of her work focusing on the outsourcing industry.

• Average Won’t Do for Philippines’ BPO Industry
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