P-Noy vows continued support for BPO sector
President Aquino vowed government’s full and continued support for businesses that aim to maximize the talents of the Filipino people especially in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.
In a speech Tuesday during the inauguration of the Pointwest Digital Center, President Aquino said Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders talked about technology and its impact among the 21-member APEC economies.
Aquino cited the case of the US, where the advancement in technology displaced laborers as modern machine and robotics have taken over manual labor.
“This is the thinking behind our massive investments and reforms in technical education: As innovation expands the realm of opportunities, we need to be certain that our people have the skills to capitalize on those opportunities,” he said.
“Through the Training for Work Scholarship Program, for instance, of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority ( TESDA), we have done just that,” he told the crowd in Pasig City.
The Aquino administration has spent more than P1.6 billion just for the ITBPM sector, training more than 200,000 Filipinos.
The government also worked handin-hand with the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines ( IBPAP) to ensure money would be spent efficiently.
Graduates found relevant employment within six months after graduation compared to the 28.5 percent employment rate posted by all TESDA scholars from 2006 to 2008.
“And I am certain that, with our continued cooperation, we can improve this figure even more. Again: Go through the training, within six months find a job. Success for over 70 percent of them,” Aquino said.
The government also launched the Service Management Program two years ago, a 21unit specialization track for students in IT and business schools.
This year, the government welcomed the first batch of graduates under the program, and as of June there is an estimate of around 8,000 students enrolling in it across eight state universities and colleges ( SUCs) in the country.
The government is also using technology to educate more people. The University of the Philippines Open University has been working with IBPAP to convert the courseware of the program to create open distance e- learning courses.
Aquino said as of September this year, 1,200 enrollees have already signed up in these courses, and half of which are OFWs. He hopes that upon graduation, these OFWs will stay in the country and not work abroad.
He explained, however, that the programs are not dole-outs but government investments in people, which it considers the country’s greatest resource.
For the TESDA program, government invests around P7,155 per scholar. When a scholar graduates and finds a job in the sector, it is assumed he or she makes at least P234,000 a year as an entry-level worker.
In less than a year, the state recoups its investment while these graduates will be taxpayers until retirement, and will also become empowered consumers that spur local economies.
He said that through active partnership between the government and the private sector, the country would continue to reap unimaginable rewards.
“I am confident that, if we continue our productive engagement, we will not just remain globally competitive, we can also give rise to a Philippines that is seen as a global example of what it takes to enjoy success that is both sustained and inclusive; a Philippines that we can be proud to bequeath to the next generation of Filipinos,” he said.