President Benigno S. Aquino III on Monday expressed his gratitude to the business process outsourcing (BPO) companies for believing in the Filipino talent.
In his speech delivered by Trade Secretary Adrian Cristobal, Jr. during the launch of VXI Global Solutions, Inc.’s flagship contact center facility at the Mall of Asia, President Aquino said the success of the BPO industry means the success of Filipinos.
With the newest center hub, the company is poised to hire an additional 1,000 people.
“What pleases me even more about VXI’s presence here is that you have not limited yourself to a ‘working’ relationship alone. After Typhoon Yolanda devastated a large portion of the Visayas, VXI and Gawad Kalinga built new homes for families affected by the calamity in Lawaan, Eastern Samar. Today, let me extend my deepest thanks for your commitment to the Filipino people. Whether it’s expanding your business or reaching out to communities, I believe that your actions are driven by the knowledge that we owe our collective success to the Filipino people,” said the President, who was unable to attend the event due to a “sudden, extreme, and urgent situation he has to attend to”, according to Secretary Cristobal.
The President also noted the special character of Filipinos, which Jack Ma of Alibaba described as “the love quotient”.
“We have always known our countrymen are smart, talented, and hardworking. They also have that special characteristic, which Mr. Jack Ma of Alibaba calls ‘the love quotient’ or LQ. There is knowledge and intelligence to be found anywhere in the world—but what he observed was that Filipinos seem to have the LQ: that extra fervor to serve; the true desire to help the client,” he said.
“I for one, agree with him. We knew that our people could fill IT-BPM’s continuous need for new talent. This is why we worked with your industry to make the most of our competitive advantage. Our Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) for IT-BPM has already benefited 232,701 graduates from 2010 to May 2016. Let me emphasize an important point about the TWSP for IT-BPM: the government recoups the cost of training these graduates in the first year of their employment alone. This only means that we have more funds to reinvest in our other countrymen,” he added.
The Chief Executive also cited the partnership between the Commission on Higher Education and Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), which resulted in the Service Management Program (SMP).
“This is a specialization track for business and IT schools that will develop in students the skills needed to enter the IT-BPM (Information Technology – Business Process Management) industry. First introduced in three state universities and colleges (SUCs) in 2013, the SMP program can now boast of 1,407 graduates. Since the academic year of 2015-2016 saw the SMP being implemented in 14 SUCs, we are hopeful that the numbers continue to grow—that more of our academic institutions will offer this program, towards capacitating even more Filipino students to obtain gainful employment in your industry,” said President Aquino.
Noting that the future looks even brighter for the BPO industry, the President credited the industry’s success to hard work.
“For six years now, the Philippines has been the global leader in voice BPO. Metro Manila, Metro Clark, and the cities of Cebu, Davao, Santa Rosa, Bacolod, Iloilo, Dumaguete, and Baguio are all among the 2016 Top 100 Outsourcing Destinations, as reported by Tholons,” he said, pointing out that both revenues and number of employees doubled in a span of five years.
In 2010, he said, direct employment was at 527,000 and revenues at US$8.9 billion, and last year’s estimates put the employment of the industry at 1.2 million individuals and revenues at US$22 billion.
“This year, the industry is expected to reach direct employment of 1.3 million individuals, and generate revenues of 25 billion dollars. Our Central Bank even predicts that, as early as 2017, the IT-BPM industry will be the country’s largest source of income,” the President said. PND (jm)
