Cebu steps up to develop qualified BPO manpower

CEBU, Philippines - To sustain its position as one of the top 10 hottest destination for Business Process Ourtsourcing (BPO) in the world, Cebu will take a higher step in producing at least 100 thousand more qualified manpower in two years.This is to make other areas in Visayas and Mindanao, and manpower providers for Cebu’s fast growing outsourcing sector, which is now needing people every single day.

Cebu Investment and Promotions Center (CIPC) Joel Mari S. Yu announced that the agency will lead an intensive marketing promotion together with players in Cebu’s outsourcing sector, to mount outside of Cebu events to invite people from other areas in Southern Philippines, to work in Cebu.

“It is high time for Cebu to mount a unified effort to go to their areas to invite people to transfer and work here,” Yu said adding that what is happening now, is individual companies are going outside of Cebu to recruit people, this time a unified recruitment effort will be led by CIPC.

According to Yu, if Cebu will not move and provide the manpower pool needed by the existing stakeholders, and investors that are coming, the province is on a dangerous position to be dislodged from being on the best BPO investment destinations in the world, as what is proclaimed by Tholons.

“We can get dislodge not because of our capability but other better place may come in, or other countries may have worked hard and provide better destination and ample number of manpower,” said Yu.

Yu said Cebu has hit the 70 thousand manpower count in the BPO sector here. Companies are needing at least 100 thousand people more.

“We will lose it [being one of the top 10 BPO destinations in the world], because of our numbers. We are too small an economy. We should make Visayas and Mindanao our recruitment ground,” Yu said.

The next higher step Cebu should do is to give the BPO companies, and upcoming investors the available manpower requirement of at least 100 thousand in two years.

Although, Yu still has to set formal talks with BPO players here, like Convergys, Aegis People Support, among others, he said part of the plan is to reach out to schools in other areas in Visayas and Mindanao, to promote Cebu to the students, thereby inviting them to come to Cebu and work.

Yu mentioned that compared to other BPO investment destinations in the world, Cebu is too small in terms of people and consumption. The reason why, aside from inviting the manpower pool from Southern Philippine region to work and live here, Cebu will also invite the wealthy people from other provinces in the region to make Cebu as their second home.

This way, the consumption base in Cebu will move up, more poeple will consume power, water, among others.

“If we are dependent on our internal people, we are too small—we are insignificant,” Yu said that the need for Cebu is become a “significantly-sized economy.”

To achieve this he said Cebu must increase the purchasing power and increase consumption by inviting people from other areas.,” he said mentioning for instance, the rich Cebuano people will not eat more than three times a day. In order to increase consumption, Cebu should invite people to live and work here. (FREEMAN)