Stakeholders brace for Trump’s actions
Local stakeholders in the information technology-business process management industry are in a wait-and-see stage regarding US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Lito Tayag, vice chair of the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), said that while industry players are monitoring the developments following Trump’s statements against outsoucing jobs outside the US, his first few days in office is too early to make judgements.
“For once, it’s too early to tell if there’s going to be an impact. As far as we’re concerned, we’re not focused on that. We’re watching it, yes, but we focus on what our clients are requiring (from) us as far as services is concerned,” said Tayag, who is also the country managing director for Accenture Philippines.
The local ICT Council likewise is on the waiting game on Trump’s next move. The US is the biggest source of IT/BPM business in the Philippines.
For Cebu Educational and Development Foundation for Information Technology (Cedfit) managing director Wilfredo Sa-a Jr., the local BPO industry continues to observe what is going on. But when asked what the consequences could be should the new US president pursue his pronouncements of punishing companies that outsource jobs outside America, Sa-a in a text message said, “We still have time to pray now that he will not do it.”
Trump was sworn into office as the 45th president of the US last Jan. 20. The businessman is known for his controversial remarks, not only against outsourcing, but also on immigration, foreign affairs, and trade matters. “From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first,” he said in his inaugural speech.
For Tayag, the best thing to do at this point is to “focus on what the Philippines does best.”
He said there is strength in numbers. The official said the number of available talent in the country continues to be an attractive feature of the labor force. He added that the Philippines’ “client-centricity” approach to work marked by the Filipinos’ friendliness and hospitality is another factor to consider.
“When you leverage that (friendliness and hospitality) and put that on top of basic skills... global clients would want to continue to work with us,” said Tayag, amid competition among countries in the IT-BPM industry such as India and Singapore.
Accenture, for one, will expand its presence in Cebu this year. Tayag said the company will open its fifth facility in Cebu City and will add 1,000 workers over the next 12 months.
While talent availability in the Philippines is an opportunity, the BPO executive believes this is also a challenge. Encouraging students to focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as well as exploring new skills will be fundamental to the growth of the Philippine IT-BPM.
“The kind of skills that took us to 1.1 million people today are not necessarily the kind of skills that will take us to our next roadmap, that is 1.8 million (workers),” Tayag said.
Moving forward, the local IT/ BPM offical sees growth.
“The IT BPM industry is expected to continue to grow but in the higher value space. We will not expect the same growth figures as in the past but this will continue to bring higher revenue as we will be focusing on the more complex activities,” said Sa-a.
“Trump’s pronouncements may have caused some wait-andsee (attitudes) from some companies. But at the end of the day, it is still a business decision based on cost and quality of service, which the Filipinos and Cebuanos have proven that they have both,” he added.