Increased training opportunities sought for BPO sector

Demand for workers seen to hit nearly 1M in 2010

By Michelle Remo - Inquirer

THE NATIONAL Economic and Development Authority has urged the government and the private sector to provide more training opportunities for people wanting to get employed in the business process outsourcing industry.

This sector has the potential of becoming a much bigger contributor to the overall growth of the economy if the country can provide the amount of labor required by investors, NEDA Director General Romulo Neri said.

In a paper distributed to the media, the NEDA, quoting industry projections, said the total number of people employed in the BPO industry has the potential to increase by nearly 200 percent to 920,764 in 2010 from the projected 343,013 this year.

Of the projected number, the call center subsector is seen to account for the biggest share of 331,000.

The BPO industry is also seen to generate a gross revenue of more than $12 billion by 2010 from only a little about $3 billion last year.

The NEDA said the revenue-generation performance of the BPO sector was fast catching up with the remittances sent by overseas Filipino workers, which hit $12 billion last year.

The booming BPO industry was partly credited for the increase in foreign direct investments in the Philippines in 2006. From only $1.854 billion in 2005, FDI increased by 26 to $2.345 billion last year.

Earlier, the Department of Labor and Employment raised concern over the mismatch between the qualifications of college graduates and the skills required by the companies investing in the Philippines.

"The BPO industry has a huge potential (in providing more employment) and so we have to have more training so that we can supply the labor demand," Neri said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in her State of the Nation Address last month, said her administration was targeting to make