Phl startup aims to close skills gap in BPO industry

MANILA, Philippines -- Globe Telecom's business incubation firm Kickstart Ventures Inc., formally launched Thursday night a startup online learning platform aimed at helping users to qualify and land jobs in the country's multi-billion-dollar business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

Dubbed Kalibrr, the startup is composed of talents from the Philippines and around the world offering job seekers a free trial of the system online.

Dexter Ligot-Gordon, chief operating officer of Kalibrr, said Kickstart invested $100,000 or P4 million in Kalibrr.

Ligot-Gordon said the system works for both job seekers and BPO companies in the Philippines, which are looking for employees.

Although the use of the system is free for job applicants, Kalibrr will get its revenues from outsourcing firms as it tries to close the skills gap.

"Our mission is to help people achieve their goals. We will help them to learn, prepare for jobs and the employers can actually recruit," Ligot-Gordon said. "The Kalibrr system closes the pipeline, the skills gap. We develop the talent and help them get jobs."

The executive said the growth of the local BPO industry is pegged at 16 percent yearly but only has a five percent hiring rate because of the leniency of many companies with qualifications.

"This is where we come in. We aim to close that gap between companies and qualifications of people," Ligot-Gordon said.

He said Kalibrr will soon partner with companies to identify critical skill needs that will create a series of assessment tools and curricula that help users qualify for a job. Once users complete the online program, Kalibrr will refer them to its partner companies for a job interview. For users, the service is absolutely free. Companies pay a fixed fee for every candidate they hire through Kalibrr.

According to the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), the BPO industry is one of the fastest growing industries locally. It is expected to employ up to 1.3 million people and earn US$25 billion in 2016.