JOBS, JOBS, JOBS
... BPO expected to push employment upwards
THE GOVERNMENT is positioning Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) as a major sector for investment, as it targets employment of 300,000 Jamaicans in the industry over the next five years.
BPO is the fastest-growing industry in Jamaica and has had the highest employment rate of any sector in Jamaica over the past decade.
The number of Jamaicans employed in the sector has moved from 12,000 in 2011 to more than 22,000 currently.
The sector, with estimated spend moving from US$230 million in 2012 to some US$430 million in 2015, represents a critical point in the plan for job creation and inclusive growth. Overseas-based businesses in telecommunications, banking, insurance, health care, finance and accounting, gaming and tech support are all being serviced from Jamaica through BPO operations.
A number of international companies such as Sutherland Global, Xerox, ItelBPO and IBEX Global opened up locations in the island last year and together have generated more than US$500 million in revenues.
In August, ground was broken for a new 63,000-square foot building at the Montego Bay Free Zone. The new building, which will increase capacity by 10 per cent, is scheduled for completion by the first half of 2017 and will provide jobs for an additional 2,000 workers.
SEVEN PROJECTS ON HORIZON
At least seven more projects are slated to come on stream shortly.
Montego Bay continues to be the centre of BPO activity, with the majority of the 45 BPO companies located in the Second City and generating 98 per cent of foreign exchange earnings.
Eighty per cent of all operators in Montego Bay are situated in the Montego Bay Free Zone.
Employment within the freezone grew by 16 per cent in 2015-16, and the Government says there is potential to triple that number.
While Montego Bay continues to be the nucleus of BPO activity, Kingston, Mandeville, Portmore and Montego Bay have seen a rise in BPO businesses.
In October, Prime Minister Holness opened IBEX Global in Portmore, which has so far employed 550 persons. Sutherland Global has also opened offices in Mandeville.