PM ORDERS ESTABLISHMENT OF BPO INVESTMENT FUND
O’BRYAN ROBINSON, who has been employed to Sutherland Global Services in Mandeville for nearly two years, is elated about being employed in the BPO sector. He points out that his employment in the outsourcing company has enabled him to adequately take care of his family.
“It is a whole new exciting sector, and that makes it interesting. My company is very accommodating. If I wanted to go to school they would work around it, and it has enabled me to take care of my family, especially now that I have a two-month-old son,” he said.
Robinson also wants to dispel notions that the BPO sector functions primarily as a call centre, even though this was his initial belief during high school.
“To me, call centre had sounded like a low-paying, lowbudget factory job. But it is not like that at Sutherland ... ,” he added.
The prime minister has pledged the Government’s full commitment to the success of the industry.
He said he has given a directive to three government entities to collaborate in the formation of an investment fund to accommodate and promote the growth in the BPO sector.
These are the Factories Corporation of Jamaica, the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) and Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO).
COMMITTED TO FUNDING GROWTH
Last year, the DBJ approved four loans valued at more than US$37 million for the buildout of BPO space in Kingston and Montego Bay.
The agency has committed to further loans totalling US$58 million to support the buildout of 771,550 square feet of space to provide 16,720 jobs.
Jobs in the BPO sector include customer service representatives, call centre agents, information technology technicians and telemarketers. The Government is aggressively positioning the industry to move up the value chain.
Careers in finance and law have already opened up, and JAMPRO says there is demand for legal process outsourcing, with law firms utilising outside support services for legal research and other routine work.
Local lawyers and legal officers are being urged to take advantage of these opportunities.