The 10% Problem in BPO Philippines

One out of ten applicants vying for a job with a business process outsourcing (BPO)company in BPO Philippines gets the job. This 10% problem is a situation for concern.

 According to the local BPO watchdog Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP), this situation can result in a shortage of qualified workers in the next five years.

“While many Filipinos apply for work in IT-BPO companies, at present the hiring rate is just five percent to 10 percent. Most applicants do not make the cut because they lack the necessary qualifications, skills, and professional expertise,”

-- Benedict Hernandez, President, Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP).

Currently, the BPAP reaches out to individuals who may be unaware of the opportunities the industry provides, especially in complex, non-voice services in order to address this talent hurdle.

“We recently launched a series of educational and information initiatives to encourage Filipinos to work in the IT-BPO industry because we found that, in many cases, people are unaware of the opportunities that our industry provides. Over 30 percent of industry revenues is generated by non-voice, complex services delivered in a continually expanding, broad range of functional areas and industries,"

-- Benedict Hernandez, President, Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP).

Further more, BPAP initiates several ventures to attract talent and improve near-hire skill sets, cooperating with key government agencies.

The BPAP is developing an integrated approach to providing responsive working conditions and promoting healthy lifestyles among employees in BPO Philippines with the Occupational Health and Safety Center of the Department of Labor and Employment and the International Labor Organization.

“It’s obviously in the best interest of individual IT-BPO companies and the IT-BPO industry as a whole to take care of their employees and balance the impact of work-related factors. Our industry is characterized by organizations that strive to provide a comfortable, interesting work environment; opportunities to pursue outside interests; and, personal development initiatives,”

-- Benedict Hernandez, President, Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP).

Last year, 638,000 people were employed in BPO Philippines to provide global services in voice, back-office, creative, information technology, software development, health information management.

Source: 
Amojelar, Darwin. "9 out of 10 applicants fail to snag BPO job 
- industry group". 25 June 2012. Interaksyon. 
Accessed 2 October 2012. Link here.