PNoy bares P500-M stimulus fund for IT-BPO industry

Pres. Noynoy Aquino III has an- nounced the approval of P500 million intended for the development of the country’s information technology-business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) sector to prepare the Philippines for the growing global demand.

Aquino delivering the closing keynote address at the IOS
“I’m happy to announce that I have recently approved an additional P500 million under our stimulus package for training program to be undertaken by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) in partnership with your industry,” Aquino said in his speech at the closing of the 3rd International Outsourcing Summit (IOS) held at Sofitel Philippine Plaza on Wednesday evening. Aquino apparently made the alloca- tion in an attempt the allay the fears of industry observers who noted that his administration is not giving the same support to the sector as the previous regime, as shown by his recent act of dissolving the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT). Aquino noted that the industry has already employed some 500,000 workers while the country is now considered the top outsourcing destination for voice-related jobs.

He said, however, that there are a lot of things to be done to meet the demands of the IT-BPO sector particularly in servicing huge pockets of untapped markets.

“As a response, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has put programs in place to scale the human resources capability of Filipino workers, which aims to identify potential candidates that could enter the industry,” the president said.

He said the government also has the Next Wave Cities Program to give the opportunity for potential en- trants living outside Metro Manila. Aside from improving the English proficiency of candidates, Tesda al- lotted P20 million for free training of potential workers, he said.

More than 140 organizations in- volved in the global IT-BPO industry participated in the IOS discussions on emerging markets, new technologies, and service develop- ment during the two-day international outsourcing summit held in Manila.

Organized by BPAP, the summit aims to discuss major issues affecting the industry, including opportunities such as growing acceptance of service outsourcing and the in- creasingly high value delivered by service providers.

Over 400 delegates and 80 speakers and panelists from Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Colombia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Norway, Russia, Singapore, the UK, and the US attended the two-day event.

Source: Newsbytes