IT-BPM sector needs to upskill AI workforce

MANILA, Philippines — The government and the information technology business process management (IT-BPM) industry need to work together to be able to upskill workers to allow the industry to capture opportunities brought by artificial intelligence, according to a professional services and investment management firm.

“While AI poses threats to currently existing IT-BPM jobs, it also presents significant opportunities for the industry,” Colliers Philippines Office Services senior manager Edzen Mangila and assistant manager Vicent Bisuna said in a blog.

“But in order for these opportunities to come into fruition, the Philippine government and industry players must work together to prepare for the impact of AI and ensure that workers are equipped with the skills needed to adapt to the changing landscape,”they said.

Colliers said upskilling, from both the public and private sector, would bode well for the attractiveness of the Philippines’ labor pool to investors.

It said this would help sustain the country’s economic growth despite frequent disruptors in technology.

“Filipinos need a skillset that is complementary to AI, such as “communication, complex analytical skills that often require careful judgements of multiple factors, and creativity,” Colliers said.

“Higher-value services may entice more new entrants to do business in the Philippines and at the same time create new specialist, analyst and engineer roles that higher-skilled Filipinos can take on,” Colliers said.

It cited an accounting IT-BPM firm that put up its own training institute, which is currently taking the lead in bridging the training gap between Philippine accounting skills and international standards, making Filipino talent competitive globally.

“We encourage learning institutions to adapt and innovate their curriculums to boost Filipinos’ skill set and meet the growing demand for the fastest growing jobs, which mostly involve computer science, analytics, engineering, and IT,” Colliers said.

The professional services firm highlighted that both the government and the IT-BPM industry have recognized the importance of preparing for the impact of AI.

It said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has developed an AI roadmap,which includes the creation of National Center for AI Research (NCAIR) – a public–private partnership hub for data scientists and researchers to perform collaborative AI R&D and technology application among government agencies, researchers, universities, research institutes, start-ups, and multinational companies.

Colliers noted that the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) have also laid out its initiatives to support the government for the continuous upskilling of Filipino workers. One of its several initiatives is the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) to embed training programs designed by the IT-BPM sector into the curriculum of higher education institutions (HEIs) for more readily employable graduates with industry-relevant skills.

Earlier this week, IBPAP announced its partnership with global AI and programming training solution firm StackTrek aimed at developing the country’s digital workforce as well as capitalizing on opportunities brought by AI.