RP eyes piece of $5-billion business process outsourcing mart in Japan

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is looking at getting a piece of the $5 billion business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in Japan, the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) said.

Aside from Japan, CICT commissioner for cyber services Mon Ibrahim said that the country is also eyeing Europe, New Zealand and Australia as potential new sources of BPO investments.

Ibrahim admitted that there is a need to ramp up investments from other markets given that the United States is facing severe economic problems. The bulk of BPOs in the country serve the US market.

“We are continuously looking for new markets and we have identified Japan, Europe Australia and New Zealand as possible markets,” Ibrahim said. “This will help further increase our market share (of the outsourcing business),” he added.

At present, Ibrahim said the Philippines enjoys 15 percent of the global outsourcing business, trailing behind India and Canada.

Ibrahim said despite the global economic meltdown, the Philippine BPO sector is still growing. In fact, he said, BPO players are looking for possible expansions to locations outside of Metro Manila and Metro Cebu, which were the center of the first wave of BPO investments in the country.

Among new locations being prepped for the industry are Laguna, Cavite, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, among others.

“This year, there are 100,000 to 150,000 jobs available and it’s just a matter of qualified applicants,” Ibrahim said.

The substandard English skills and computer literacy of fresh graduates contribute to the lack of qualified personnel in the industry.

“Somehow, (English and computer literacy) are still an issue, especially among students in the provinces,” said Ibrahim.

Ibrahim said these problems are now being addressed by the government by offering scholarships to students for English proficiency and computer skills.

Skills training offered by the government are a welcome assistance to the industry, she said.

This year, the BPO sector expects service exports to reach $7.5 billion to $8 billion from only $6.1 billion in 2008.