Philippines can supply blockchain talent, says Union Bank exec

MANILA, Philippines — Union Bank of the Philippines president and CEO Edwin Bautista recently underscored the importance of training Filipinos to become knowledgeable in blockchain as many organizations are now investing in this technology – resulting in greater demand for professionals who have the necessary technical skills to create and implement blockchain-enabled processes.

Speaking at the “Disruptor or Disrupted: BusinessWorld Economic Forum 2018” held at the Grand Hyatt in Taguig City, the chief of one of the country’s largest banks sees the eventual takeover of blockchain as an opportunity to position the country’s workforce as a major source of blockchain professionals.

“If we can train our highly talented workforce to become well-versed in blockchain, we can become a leading source of blockchain talent for organizations all over the world, just like how we are seen as one of the best destinations for voice business process outsourcing,” Bautista said.

Bautista’s statement comes amid a skyrocketing demand for blockchain-capable professionals.

In a report published by global freelancing platform Upwork last May, blockchain landed at the top spot in the platform’s list of 20 fastest-growing skills in the first quarter of 2018, posting a 6,000-percent year-on-year growth in terms of demand.

In China alone, demand for blockchain talent rose by almost 10 percent just between January and February of this year. In addition to this, the number of companies with blockchain-related vacancies also increased by almost five percent within the same period, lowering the supply-demand ratio to 0.15, according to news reports.

By providing Filipino talents with blockchain education and training, Bautista said the Philippines would be able to get a share of this growing lucrative market.

Bautista said this could help those whose roles are being disrupted by other emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

“Those in the industry who get displaced because of AI, for example, one option is to teach them blockchain development, and they will be assured of a job in the next five years,” Bautista said.

Union Bank itself is offering career opportunities to blockchain talents, along with transitioning hundreds of its workers into what are now called “jobs of the future.”

“I will retool people from their existing jobs. I will give them a first crack at other jobs,” Bautista said, stressing that there are many other new careers coming out like design, programming and digital marketing.

“By equipping our workforce with blockchain skills, not only are we creating something that can potentially fuel our economy, we are also ensuring that our talent pool is able to thrive in a fully blockchain-enabled world, which is just around the corner,” Bautista concluded.