EDITORIAL - The brisk business of BPO

It was reported last week that at least eight foreign companies are cashing in on the brisk business of business process outsourcing (BPO) in Cebu. Joel Mari Yu, managing director of the Cebu Investment Promotion Center, said these companies are engaged in high-end outsourcing services.

High-end BPO services usually involve medical coding and billing, data mining, among others. It is expected that these companies would open thousands of additional jobs once they start to operate.

It seems Cebu continues to do wonders in the effort to attract more foreign investments. Being the country’s hub of commerce outside Metro Manila, Cebu has been transformed into a premier metropolis and has become the haven of multinational investors.

It helps that with a large pool of talents, Cebu has begun to emerge as one of the world’s top BPO destinations. That is why our graduates would no longer have a hard time finding employment. Call center jobs, which offer lucrative salaries, have become a magnet for them regardless of their educational training.

But there is still plenty of room for improvement. More growth awaits the BPO sector in Cebu if its full potential is tapped. It can even overtake Metro Manila in terms of attracting BPO investment given the right infrastructure planning.

Admittedly, Cebu’s infrastructure system is still in bad shape. We still lack modern and efficient transportation that extends beyond the metro area, a system that the BPO workforce greatly needs. The bus rapid transport system that will soon be implemented in Cebu City won’t really help because other areas won’t benefit from it.

As for students wanting to join the BPO industry, local schools should prepare them for the real world by introducing more lessons suitable for the sector’s atmosphere. Studies have shown that many in the BPO business did not last long because they lack the courage to stand the rigorous demand of their job. Undeniably, many graduates failed to land employment in the BPO sector because of their limited knowledge of the English language. This problem has been long raised by the industry leaders.

Cebu has been hugely benefiting from the massive BPO investments pouring into the country. And more will come in if concrete steps that strengthen its attractiveness are put in place.