From its first contact center in 1992, the BPO industry in the Philippines has grown to over 850 registered BPO companies today. Its steady growth transpired as technologies advanced and key players supported it, leading to industry and national economic progress that benefited Filipinos nationwide.
So, the question becomes, “What is the status of BPOs in the Philippines today?” That’s what we’ll look into in this post.
Still the BPO capital of the world
The Philippines remains the BPO capital of the world, placing seventh in the 2017 AT Kearney Global Services Location Index for several reasons. For one, the country has worked to improve its industrial environments, policies, and processes, ranking 95th among 190 countries listed by the World Bank for ease of doing business.
The country also has a high education literacy rate of 95 percent, producing more than 450,000 graduates of various specializations yearly, which makes for a diverse workforce in BPOs.
The English-speaking manner among Filipinos even observes accent neutrality, a trait US and UK investors appreciate for easier communication. Moreover, the Philippines offers cost-effective rates for its BPO services while offering profitable value to foreign businesses.
An abundance of competitive job opportunities
BPO jobs are among the most sought-after nationally, not only for their myriad post vacancies but also for their competitive salaries and other benefits. After all, the country's BPOs seek skills from different fields, such as nursing and communications, and provide insurance coverage, career development plans, and incentives, among other things.
As such, the industry has hired millions of Filipino talents, skyrocketing the employment rate by 1,000 percent since 2004. Experts even predict an addition of close to 700,000 job opportunities for medium- and high-skilled positions by 2022. Philippine BPO companies are not even centered on the National Capital Region alone but have expanded beyond it into several prominent cities on other islands.
Positive economic contribution
The BPO industry in the country has an expected 7% to 9% growth every year, higher than the global outsourcing sector growth. Financial figures even reflect the Philippine BPOs’ excellent business performance. The Central Bank of the Philippines anticipates the sector's revenue reaching 50 billion dollars by 2020, up from 24 billion dollars in 2016.
This is why the national government recognizes the BPO sector as one of the country’s economic pillars, with a roughly 10 percent share of the total gross domestic Product (GDP). The BPO industry is also the Philippines’ top earner in foreign exchange, besides overseas Filipino workers’ remittances, with almost 19.7 million US dollars.
Government backing up BPOs
Recognizing the vital role of BPOs in the country, the national government enacted various policies and programs to support BPOs. For instance, its Department of Information and Communications Technology introduced the Digital Transformation Strategy for 2022 and the National Cybersecurity Plan.
These blueprints aim to bolster national cyber infrastructures, users’ data privacy, citizen and industry participation in digital advancement toward economic progress, and more.
The Department of Science and Technology also teaches data science and analytics to 30,000 BPO, academe, and government professionals through Data Analytics R&D, Training, and Adoption (SPARTA) in the Smarter Philippines program. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority also offers courses that match the BPOs’ skill specifications, particularly for voice support.
Final Thoughts
With these, the Philippines remains a competitive, ideal outsourcing destination for enterprises of all kinds and sizes. If you’re looking to partner with a Philippines business process outsourcing company for your operations and business goals, why don’t you contact us today? We’ll be happy to assist you with your questions or provide you with a free service quote.