Why Filipino IT engineers are losing out to the Chinese
April 4, 2005 | 12:00am
It all boils down to numbers.
"Japanese IT vendors are looking for IT experts from mainland China because they are cheaper and they come in the numbers that Japanese vendors need at any given time," said Miyazaki Atsuo, chief executive officer of Chinasoft Tokyo Co. Ltd., which was commissioned by Japan External Trade Office to do a study on how Filipino ICT workers can better respond to Japan’s market requirements.
On average, Japan has between 1,000 and 1,500 projects per month, with each project requiring 2,000 to 3,000 people.
"All things being equal, Japanese vendors would prefer to deal with Filipinos. The turnover of Chinese engineers in Japanese companies is as fast as six months to three years while Filipinos stay from three to six years," said Atsuo.
Filipino IT engineers compare favorably with their foreign counterparts.
"Filipinos are known for the very high quality standards that they keep," said Akira Konishi, president of ADTX Systems, Inc, a software system developer established in 1993. Aside from its head office in Alabang, the company has branches in Cebu and Makati. "I prefer Filipino engineers but I am forced to keep hiring Chinese engineers to match the requirements of my clients."
Another Japanese vendor, Fujitsu Ten, has been operating in the Philippines since August 1999.
"We intend to keep expanding in the Philippines. We are happy with Filipino engineers who design our car audio hardware and software," said Fujitsu Ten chief executive officer Takao Kamai.
To give Filipino IT engineers an edge, the Department of Trade and Industry has been conducting Nihonggo classes. With a program grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, a Japanese proficiency program for 50 Filipino engineers was conducted last February.
"We will be expanding our classes to train more engineers to speak Japanese," said Board of Investment executive director and officer-in-charge Celeste Ilagan. "Our goal is to expand Nihonggo training to caregivers and nurses," said Ilagan.
The classes are conducted by the Nihonggo Center Foundation, Inc. in close collaboration with private Japanese IT companies, which will eventually absorb the Filipino IT engineers in Japan and in their offshore operations.
"Japanese IT vendors are looking for IT experts from mainland China because they are cheaper and they come in the numbers that Japanese vendors need at any given time," said Miyazaki Atsuo, chief executive officer of Chinasoft Tokyo Co. Ltd., which was commissioned by Japan External Trade Office to do a study on how Filipino ICT workers can better respond to Japan’s market requirements.
On average, Japan has between 1,000 and 1,500 projects per month, with each project requiring 2,000 to 3,000 people.
"All things being equal, Japanese vendors would prefer to deal with Filipinos. The turnover of Chinese engineers in Japanese companies is as fast as six months to three years while Filipinos stay from three to six years," said Atsuo.
"Filipinos are known for the very high quality standards that they keep," said Akira Konishi, president of ADTX Systems, Inc, a software system developer established in 1993. Aside from its head office in Alabang, the company has branches in Cebu and Makati. "I prefer Filipino engineers but I am forced to keep hiring Chinese engineers to match the requirements of my clients."
Another Japanese vendor, Fujitsu Ten, has been operating in the Philippines since August 1999.
"We intend to keep expanding in the Philippines. We are happy with Filipino engineers who design our car audio hardware and software," said Fujitsu Ten chief executive officer Takao Kamai.
"We will be expanding our classes to train more engineers to speak Japanese," said Board of Investment executive director and officer-in-charge Celeste Ilagan. "Our goal is to expand Nihonggo training to caregivers and nurses," said Ilagan.
The classes are conducted by the Nihonggo Center Foundation, Inc. in close collaboration with private Japanese IT companies, which will eventually absorb the Filipino IT engineers in Japan and in their offshore operations.
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