BPO sector focuses on beefing up talent pool

With the business process outsourcing sector still poised for continued explosive growth in the coming years, the industry is focusing on enhancing the country’s talent pool by instituting more certification and assessment tools.

According to Raymond Lacdao, Business Processing Association of the Philippines industry affairs executive director, talent management—which includes certification and outreach initiatives—is now the industry’s top priority.

“After experiencing rapid growth over the past few years, the industry is looking for ways to sustain its talent supply. We need a robust pool of skillful and motivated workers to spur further growth,” Lacdao said in a statement.

Lacdao said English-language skills were not the only ones that the industry requires at this point. The talent pool should also possess leadership, strategic thinking, and comprehension skills, as well as teamwork.

To help the industry get better people, Lacdao said that BPAP had rolled out the Global Competitiveness Assessment Tool, which enables BPO companies to evaluate the skills of graduating students, in a bid to improve hiring rates.

BPAP, and the rest of the information technology and BPO sectors, likewise supported the K+12 education reform program, which was expected to produce more employment-ready individuals with the potential to support the BPO industry’s talent requirements.

According to BPAP’s Road Map 2011-2016, the BPO sector has the potential to post at least $20 billion in revenues by 2016 and even as high as $25 billion with stronger public-private partnership.

A $20-billion industry could provide employment to as many as 900,000 individuals. A $25-billion industry, on the other hand, could give jobs to as many as 1.3 million people.

In an earlier interview, TeleTech Holdings Inc. vice president for human capital Tim Hinds said that to ensure that there would always be a steady stream of qualified labor, would-be BPO practitioners themselves should also exert time and effort to improve.

Near-hires, for example, or applicants who almost made it through the screening process but just fell short on some requirements, should be willing to spend some time on sharpening their skills, he said.