Advantages of Outsourcing in the Philippines
By Roberto L Bacasong
THE Philippines might be in third world country but it is certainly rich in terms of talented skilled workers who may compete in the level of requirements set by the multinational companies. Dynamic workforce by every Filipino is one of the reasons why local and foreign outsourcing companies continue to expand their business for the past previous years.
The off-shore companies particularly in call center industry underscore the outstanding potential of the Filipino human resources. Biggest outsourcing companies invested millions of pesos in putting up their facilities in the Philippines. This is because of the economic environment, skilled workers, cost-competitive salaries, better infrastructure, investor friendly and the policies of the Philippine Government. The country became noted to the entry of contact centers which delivers growth and development for the revenue boon.
It has been noted that the Philippines is very proud in showcasing its people to the world. The ability of the Filipinos to communicate in English was recognized on the map. The country’s educational standard was primarily came from the American when the country were still a colony from 1898 up to 1945. English is being taught in school from kindergarden to college. Not only that, Filipino parents also encouraged their children to speak English all the time at their respective homes. No doubt that Filipino agents gained the reputation as one of the best people in handling customer service in the impressive call center industry. The presence of the American resulted to the better grasp of the English language that has remained to be one of the medium of instructions aside from Filipino. It has been also noted that more than 95 percent of Filipinos are Catholic and the only Catholic dominated country in Asia. It means that religion which is one of the most influential sectors in the Philippines encourage the Filipino families to strengthen the education. The parents believe that proper education is the only gift which they can afford to give to their children. Proper education sharpen the literacy rate of the Filipinos and widen their horizon in terms of finding a stable job for them to live.
The tremendous reasons cited above might brought the Philippines to be one of the global leaders in the call center industry. Outsourcing is considered to be a prospect industry which may save the country from unpaid debt. It may also give opportunities to the Filipino workers to cater people from all walks of life. The trend of the outsourcing is very obvious as it gives fundamental knowledge on handling customers. The ability of the Filipinos in the information technology opened the doors to the competitive business process outsourcing (BPO). With India as the number competitor of the Philippines, no doubt that in the next following years, many of the leading contact centers are doing expansion in the country. It is also a great advantage that providing knowledgeable and quality-focused labor has been the top priority by the national government agenda.
The national government plays a vital role in keeping this industry alive. By focusing on education is a visible reason of maintaining the number of workforce every year. The government also provided scholarships to those Filipinos who wants to be trained in the call centers. This is led by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), an institution responsible for vocational-technical training. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo noted in her previous State of the Nation Address (Sona) that the government has allocated some training certificates for the near hires applicants, who are mostly high school graduates. This is to facilitate their quick absorption into an industry that is continuously looking for new talent. Near hires refer to the applicants who passed in the preliminary interviews and exams but needs more training on how to speak further English.
The President advised TESDA to speed up their program in order to fill in the graduates to the increasing demand in the call center business and BPO. The other reason for this is to achieve the goal to have more employed Filipinos by 2010. It has been reported also that the Philippine outsourcing sector is fast growing in terms of providing employment. The Philippine call centers continue to be the best destination for outsourcing in the world and will remain leader in Asia and the world because of the continuous programs set by the national government.*
