BPO firm intensifies plan to build academy in SRP

CEBU, Philippines - Aegis PeopleSupport is intensifying its move to put up its Aegis Global Academy in Cebu by negotiating with different stakeholders here.

Aegis global chief executive officer Aparup Sengupta announced that the company, which is one of the largest BPO firms in the world, is now identifying the level of interest among target market for the Aegis Global Academy, as well as examining the kind of curriculum to be offered in its planned Cebu facility.

The company is currently talking with the Cebu City government for its interest to put up the academy at the South Road Properties (SRP), in coordination with the academe, and the management of SRP.

Congressman Tomas Osmeña, who introduced the idea during his stint as Cebu City Mayor, said that if the University of the Philippines (UP Cebu) will not be able to set up the UP-MBA facility this year, there is a possibility that SRP management will take back the five-hectare lot it donated to the school.

In an interview, Osmeña said that the contract with UP Cebu and SRP management (Cebu City government) will expire this year. However, the Congressman said the decision will all depend with the City government under Mayor Michael Rama.

On the other hand, Sengupta said the establishment of the Aegis Global Academy in Cebu will need a stronger coordination and partnership with the academe and Local Government Unit (LGU), as its entry to the Philippines through the academy can help arrest the looming shortage of BPO talent pool especially in the major urban areas.

Already, Aegis People Support and the Cebu City government have created a joint training program to provide free training for Cebu City residents. The same program supposedly costs P3,500 for a five-week skills development training at People Support’s training arm called Aspire People Solutions Inc.

According to Osmeña, aside from Aegis People Support, other BPO companies have also expressed interest to support the UP-MBA facility at SRP, provided their agents’ promising career path via taking up MBA courses, which school schedules will be designed to fit the lifestyle of BPO students.

Earlier, Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP) former chairman and chief executive officer of Aegis PeopleSupport Bong Borja said that Cebu’s bid to become an MBA hub, especially for BPO community, is one of the brilliant moves for a local government unit such as Cebu.

According to Borja, Cebu’s plan is well-suited for the city’s bid to attract the new wave of outsourcing investments like the Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO), of which salary standard are much higher than the voice-outsourcing service like the call center.

Currently, investment banks in the US and analysis jobs requirement in the Wall Street are being outsourced, and the Philippines has the capacity to capture this multi-million-dollar industry, as long as it has enough manpower pool.

Positioning Cebu as an MBA hub would well serve the city or the province’s bid to becoming the number one emerged outsourcing destination in the world, he said. (FREEMAN)