Cebu ICT told to polish manpower supply niche

CEBU, Philippines – For Cebu to move up from number one emerging Business Process Outsourcing destination to a legitimate “emerged” destination, it has to seriously look into its manpower supply niche, this according to Tholons chief executive officer (CEO) and founder Avinash Vashista.

Vashista was in Cebu yesterday to grace the opening of the Cebu ICT 2009 Conference and Exhibition at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC).

“The scale and quality of the manpower here is tremendous,” Vashista spoke to over 200 delegates to the conference including ICT stakeholders in the province from ICT companies, government agencies and the academe. 

He added that while India and China’s local workforce is maybe “10 to 20 times more” than in Cebu, the latter’s IT employers have proven themselves to be of world-class quality.

Cebu’s strength in having high quality workforce has been a significant factor in the province’s ranking last year by Global Services and Tholons as the number one emerging BPO destination among 50 key cities in the world.

“Cebu is now a leader among emerging BPO destinations but Cebu has to move and become one of the emerged destinations,” Vashista said.

He emphasized that in its bid to be among the line of emerged BPO cities in the world, Cebu has to further protect its manpower supply by engaging in more programs that will enhance the quality of its IT and IT-related graduates to increase their probability to be hired by IT companies.

He then urged for an intensified academe-industry-government linkage as well as infrastructure investments that will support the local ICT industry. He also zeroed in on the need for government to provide tax incentives for foreign ICT investors.

“Cebu needs enough economic zones to attract investors for the province to become a truly emerged BPO destination,” Vashista stressed.

For his part, Cebu ICT 2009 Chairman Jerry Rapes expressed optimism the event will serve as a motivation and inspiration not only for outsourcing companies but also for local IT professionals.

“It will give them hope that there is a job waiting for them here without them leaving their families,” Rapes said.

Rapes said that the local ICT industry has remained to be among the most resilient industries amid the global financial meltdown.

"Players are being cautiously optimistic. They are cautious in a way that they don't want to overestimate expansion plans and hiring people. But above it all, ICT players are still expanding," he said.

The Cebu ICT 2009, which opened yesterday and will culminate tomorrow carries the theme “Cebu e-Merging Island of Innovation.” It is one of the major events on the ongoing Cebu Business Month (CBM 2009) celebration spearheaded by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).