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The business process outsourcing (BPO) industry will continue to grow this year particularly in the industry?s non-voice or knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) sector, especially in Cebu where there is a good number of skilled employees, a manpower company official has said.
?There will be more or should I say exponential growth in the non-voice back office related jobs like I.T., bills processing service, and statements procurement services compared to call center jobs,? Jon E. Kaplan, president of TeleDevelopment, told CEBU DAILY NEWS during his visit in Cebu for the launching of the IBM Global Delivery Center on Jan. 29.
Kaplan said that every week, the BPO industry needs 2,000 new employees and 15 percent of that number would be in Cebu.
?That will grow this year with the entrance of KPO in Cebu, and I think Cebu has good workforce pool to support and sustain the growth,? Kaplan said.
One of the first KPO companies to see that promise of Cebu and open this year is IBM Philippines, which offers software solutions for any business process to international and domestic clients.
The IBM has been in Cebu since 1965 doing after-sales support with only a handful employees. ?Now we decided to invest in Cebu and expand operations here by launching a Global Delivery Center site on the 12th floor of TGU Tower in Asia I.T. Park, specifically for our Application Services,? Richard Patterson, IBM Corp. vice president, for globally integrated delivery said.
Patterson said the investment that they would be pouring into the Philippines would be in parallel with the demand from clients both global and domestic.
Lula Mohanty, director for Philippines Global Delivery, said they were considering the Philippines one of the eight top strategic locations for growth. This led them to invest in a second site outside Manila that passed their criteria of having good infrastructure, strong academic development and a government that's supportive of business.
?For Cebu, we shall be focusing on Java and Web technologies, Lotus Notes, testing and software maintenance,? Mohanty said.
Mohanty added that they do not have a target number of people to hire. Instead, they are focused on acquiring whatever talent is available here in Cebu, which they think is useful for the company.
?We also think that we can get as much talents here as in Manila with Cebu being a gateway to other provinces and cities in Visayas and Mindanao and even to the world with its direct international flights,? Mohanty said.
The IBM Cebu office in I2 Building also in Asiatown I.T. Park has 23 employees for domestic clients and 50 employees for global operations, which will soon expand over the next few months.
