BPO Industry Expects to Generate 170k More Jobs this Year

Jobs in the Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) sector this year are forecast to grow by a fifth from last year.

Danilo Reyes, who chairs the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), said the industry is aiming to grow its workforce to 1.2 million this year after jobs climbed to 1.03 million in 2014 from 900,000 in the previous year. The target headcount translates to another 170,000 jobs.

Speaking during a forum today on its prospects, Reyes said the industry is on track to meet its goal of 1.3 million jobs and $25 billion in revenues or 8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by next year.

He said BPO revenues increased by 19 percent from $15.5 billion in 2013 to $18.4 billion last year, representing 6 percent of the Philippine economy.

“All sectors are growing,” Reyes said, adding that all segments – global in-house centers, healthcare, mobile applications development, gaming and call centers – are expanding.

For 2015, revenues are forecast to increase to $21.3 billion, as Reyes expects growth from both the voice and non-voice segments.

“Healthcare is becoming big. It is the fastest growing now in terms of revenues and employees,” he said.

To address challenges in sustaining its talent pool, IBPAP is pursuing the Service Management Program (SMP), a 21-unit specialized course designed to provide students the skill sets needed to work in the industry.

The program is being offered in 17 universities across the country.

IBPAP also is adding three or four cities to its list of next wave cities by the middle of the year. To date, the next-wave cities include Baguio, Davao, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Lipa, Metro Bulacan, Metro Cavite, Metro Laguna, Metro Naga and Metro Rizal.

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