MVP backs 5-year, P40-B subsidy for IT-BPM sector
PLDT Inc. chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan has expressed support for the local information technology and business process outsourcing industry’s call to receive an P8-billion subsidy per year for the industry’s skills upgrade program.
“I understand the broader IT industry here is in discussion with government for a P40-billion, five-year IT skills upgrade program. We should support this, because a vibrant IT industry would be a great competitive differentiator in the region,” Pangilinan said.
“It is important that the IT industry achieve its goals in 2022 — about two million direct hires, 7.6 million indirect employment, 500,000 jobs outside NCR, $40 billion dollars in revenues, and a 15 percent share of the global IT-BPM market,” he said.
Pangilinan said while the challenges facing the industry are formidable, its prospects “are not altogether bleak.”
“These aspects of humanity guarantee that people cannot be completely replaced. However, to remain relevant, you have to level up with the digital trends happening with your customers. New and more sophisticated services in the fields of finance, health services, education, and cyber security require higher forms of knowledge and skills from the industry,” he said.
“Additionally, customer service requirements have also become more demanding. They want real-time, quick, and empathetic answers to their questions, and solutions to their issues,” he said.
Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) president and CEO