Manpower woes impede growth of banking sector

CEBU, Philippines - Manpower shortage looms in the banking sector despite efforts to attract the country’s workforce to consider a job in the banking industry.

Alberto Villarosa, past president of the Bankers Association of the Philippines and president and chief executive officer of Security Bank, said that while the banking sector is aggressively on expansion mode, it is currently facing shortage in manpower requirement.

"The younger generation would rather go to call center or knowledge process outsourcing or opt to be entrepreneurs after graduating," said Villarosa during his recent visit to Cebu.

According to Villarosa the good environment for banking expansion in the Philippines, is not so much challenged by the market competition, but more on competing to get the right people.

At present, bank institutions, supported by BAP are constantly holding bank immersion programs for teachers in different universities around the country to update the faculties of the new banking operational environment and make banking job attractive to students.

"A lot of faculty members are handicapped and rely on outdated textbooks," said Villarosa adding that the program which has been running for a few years now is still a work in progress.

Aside from the attractive salary packages by the voice outsourcing firms, the increasing number of KPO companies setting up operations in the Philippines, which provide more intellectually stimulating jobs, worsens the shortage of manpower sourcing among banks.

Villarosa admitted that there is a gap, however, in the compensation package between banking and the outsourcing sector.

“It’s difficult to engage into a price war with the BPO,” he said referring that BPO companies offer higher salary packages than most banks.

Also, he said that there is a need to change the mindset of the job hunters, or the new graduates that banking job is “boring” or only deals with numbers.

Because of this perception, most of the fresh graduates are not attracted to banking jobs anymore.

“The problem now if we want to expand, is not the capital, nor the location—it’s the people to man the branch,” Villarosa said.

Just like the BPO and other industries, the banking sector now needs people who are good in “marketing” and people skills.

“We want to expand our clientele, and we need people who are good in marketing,” he said.

On the other hand, in order to fight with this problem, some banking institutions now are partnering directly with the academe sector, to spot potential people for hiring, he added.

In Cebu, this problem has already been felt by the local banking operators, as Cebu is now one of the hottest destinations for BPO investments.

Cebu Bankers Club past president Prudencio Gesta said that most banks are now experiencing difficulties in hiring “qualified” staff.

According to Gesta, unlike before that manpower supply was abundant. Today, the stiff job market competition has affected the banks’ sourcing for additional workers.

Although, some say that BPO employment is mostly considered as “short-term,” a lot of fresh graduates, even those who are already qualified for managerial and supervisory levels are tempted to try the outsourcing field because of inviting salary packages, Gesta said. (FREEMAN)