Will Cebu remain as the number one BPO hub?

When the The FREEMAN headlined more than two weeks ago that Cebu City is now the world's number one BPO destination, it brings us to the idea that Cebu truly got what it takes to outclass fifty of the world's leading BPO territories including Shanghai and Beijing; Ho Chi Minh City; Krakow; Calcutta and Cairo. Further, Cebu Investments and Promotions Center (CIPC) managing director Joel Mari S. Yu says,   "The world's biggest outsourcing companies are now looking at Cebu. Now, we are a legitimate outsourcing destination. The world is now looking at Cebu." 

It's good news indeed. But it bears with it great responsibility in order to live up to the expectations of those companies that will put their business address here. We may have very good backend like infrastructure, peace and order and a very supportive and honest LGU, but we need to be aware that the front end is what completes the entire loop to tie those companies here to stay put for the long term. And I'm talking about the labor pool.  

Does Cebu have the numbers to deploy the much-needed human capital to service the requirements of locators? If we did, how many are we talking here? Are they qualified to do the job or just merely available for the job?

You see, the labor scenario in the BPO industry is not job shortage but labor shortage where there are not enough people with the required skills set to do BPO work like in the call centers. By the way, worth noting is that call center organizations like the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) warns that the labor shortage has actually worsened in recent times. From five-percent hiring rate, call center operators are reporting three-percent hiring rates for applicants.

The same is true in other BPO areas like in the IT sector. A key industry that thrives an average of not less than ten percent labor growth rate for the last ten years (according to XMG, a Canada-based research firm), it now beginning to worry about sustaining its growth amid an acute shortage of IT professionals to service outsourced projects in the country in addition to the threat of migration of qualified talents for a high paying job abroad. The irony here is that there are more than enough graduates to take those projects but only a few of them get the opportunity to do the job.          Former education secretary Florencio Abad points the root of the problem to education. "Our country faces a very dire situation in terms of getting the basic education sector to provide a much more solid foundation of basic education competencies essential for global competitiveness."

XMG chief analyst Lauro Vives with ZDNet Asia said: "With the increasing demand for IT professionals today, companies should be aware of the situation and align their strategies to mitigate risk coming from the labor market."

And before these companies are going to change their minds on locating here, I hope we must do something to address the relevance of our educational system to the needs of the industry.  

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