Cebu BPO sector veers towards KPM segment

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (Cedfit) managing director Wilfredo Sa-a Jr., said the direction now of Cebu’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry is on intensifying efforts to attract more KPM (knowledge process management).

Cedfit, which is now acting as the voice of bigger outsourcing companies operating in Cebu, has seen the tremendous growth of KPO firms operating in Cebu in the recent years.

Nationally, the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) said the KPM segment is acting as one of the major catalysts to achieve the "brain gain" bid of the country, as professionals like lawyers, accountants, artists, doctors, nurses, medical technologists, teachers, programmers, animators, among others are now given wider choices for employment and avail of high-paying jobs, while top multinational firms are setting up their offshore offices in the Philippines.

Sa-a said the number of KPM companies is on the rise and are already employing quite a good number of people, however most of them remains below the radar.

Companies like Lexmark, JP Morgan, Accenture, NCR, IBM, QBE, are among the multinational giants that are expanding their KPO operations in Cebu

Although pursuing the KPO investments is not a new initiative for Cebu, Sa-a said the progress however, is not moving as fast as the voice-related outsourcing service.

One of the hurdles identified was the scarcity of good talents, who must not only be articulate in English, but must also be professionals with higher value expertise such as programmers, creatives, and innovators, among others.

Thus, it is important for industry players in Cebu to constantly work with the academe sector so that the ongoing mismatch will finally be given resolution.

By 2020, the growth of the IT-BPO sector in the Philippines is expected to worth P12 trillion (US$ 250 billion) from P8 trillion (US$ 166 billion), spurred by the demand for outsourcing services projected to double up by the same year.

KPO or KPM type of outsourcing jobs pay a monthly salary of not less than P30,000 , depending on the skills requirement of the company. (FREEMAN)