IT-BPO SECTOR SHOULD EXPAND INTO
NON-VOICE, COMPLEX SERVICES - ANGARA

Senator Edgardo J. Angara called on the Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) sector to grow its portfolio to include non-voice and other complex services.

Angara, Chair of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, noted that projections from the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) anticipate 20 to 25 percent growth in the sub-sector over the next five years, characterizing it as the industry's next growth driver.

"We have already established ourselves as the top destination for BPO voice services. But as we work on solidifying our lead, we should also expand our offerings into higher value services like financial management, creative content, outsourced engineering services, software development and others that involve heavy research and analytics," said Angara.

Angara, Chair of the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering (COMSTE) noted a 2009 report from Everest Research Institute that underlines the nascent potential of the Philippine IT-BPO industry for non-voice services.

Entitled The Silent Knight: The Philippines' Emerging Non-Voice BPO Capability, the report outlined that issues with talent and human resources make it unlikely for the Philippines to replace India as the top haven for non-voice BPO services. The report still pointed to the country's potential to emerge as an important satellite delivery location.

"It is imperative for us to make sure our schools graduate young professionals who can fill in this human resource gap. Government, industry and the academe need to collaborate on how our curricula can be modified toward this end," said Angara.

Recently, budget secretary Florencio B. Abad said that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will work closely with BPA/P and Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philppines, Inc. (SEIPI) to craft courses and curricula on skills needed by members of the two industry associations.

Angara has called for a public hearing on IT education to discuss the employability of current graduates to the IT-BPO industry and short- and long-term interventions for curriculum development.