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.

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