IT-BPM GROUP SEEKS OUT SENIORS FOR JOB OPENINGS

IT-BPM companies open to hiring non-college graduates as long as they are 18 years old and meet qualifications for the job, says Cib.O managing director Wilfredo Sa-a Jr.

The Cebu IT-BPM Organization (Cib.O) expects a good number of senior high school graduates to enter the US$23-billion industry. Managing director Wilfredo Sa-a Jr. said that Cib.O reached out to at least 10,000 senior high school students last year during a Career Caravan. IT-BPM firms are willing to accept senior high students who are at least 18 years old and qualified, he said.

The Cebu IT-BPM Organization (Cib.O) is anticipating a good number of senior high school graduates to join the $23-billion industry.

Cib.O managing director Wilfredo Sa-a Jr. said they reached out to more 10,000 senior high students last year through the organization’s Career Caravan to tell them about career opportunities in IT-BPM.

“We told the students that the industry is opening up their options and that they’re willing to accept senior high school students as long as they are 18 years old and qualified,” said Sa-a.

He said one way to prepare these students is through the Leap program.

Leap is a stand-alone, computer-based training program with lessons and exercises to help users improve their English language skills— a deficiency of many Filipinos— developed by the University of the Philippines and funded by the Department of Science and Technology.

Leap’s main goal is to address the need for improving the basic English proficiency of Filipinos to meet the demand of a growing outsourcing industry in the country.

The software contains accent-neutral instruction and is free from culture-based idiomatic expressions. Target users are Filipino high school students and early collegiate students.

“It is a fitting program to prepare the senior high school students for BPO work, should they opt not to pursue a college education,” he said.

Sa-a added that the program is an intervention pushed by industry stakeholders and government to make sure the IT-BPM sector has a steady supply of talent, addressing a problem brought by the K+12 implementation.

Apas National High School is the pilot school of the Leap program.

Sa-a said they are eyeing four other schools to introduce Leap: Mabolo National High School, Banilad National High School, Lahug National High School, and Zapatera National High School.

Some 150,000 workers are employed in Cebu’s IT-BPM industry.

According to Sa-a, should the industry grow between seven and 10 percent, the industry would need some 7,500 to 15,000 new hires.

The local BPM industry, where call centers fall under, has a current total revenue of about $23 billion (P1.15 trillion).

If it reaches an annual growth pace of about 16 percent, it is projected that by 2022, the industry could further rise to be a $40-billion (over P2 trillion) industry.

National Economic and Development Authority (Neda ) 7 Director Efren Carreon said the IT-BPM industry will remain an important generator of employment amid the maturity of the BPM segment.

Knowledge process outsourcing is expected to grow at a faster pace, as the region endeavors to position itself as the preferred destination for higher value services, said Carreon.