[ Manila Bulletin Online ] July 8, 2008
By EDU LOPEZ
The country’s offshoring and outsourcing services industry is on track in meeting its $ 12 billion revenue target by 2010 as more global companies are locating in the country.
Commissioner Angelo Timoteo Diaz de Rivera of the Commission on Information Communications Technology (CICT) said these firms are lured by the availability of manpower talents needed to support the growing industry.
"Rather than compete with the Philippines, big US and Indian companies are now investing here outsourcing and market to the world.
It’s a boon to the country’s economy because jobs stay here but we export the products," he said.
De Rivera said stakeholders are undertaking capacity building and marketing initiatives so system developers can sell to the global market.
"Most of what we are doing in CICT is covering some of the gaps. On the other hand, the DTI is doing a very fantastic role in marketing the industry abroad together with the Business Processing Association of the Philippines that gets investors into the country."
To address jobs-skills mismatch, de Rivera said, the Commission is working with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Commission on Higher Education in coming up with better training courses in accordance with industry standards.
This will help the graduates easily land jobs in the O&O companies, he noted. The burgeoning outsourcing sector, comprising business process outsourcing (BPO), information technology (IT) and engineering services, is projected to create one million jobs by 2010.
Based on its roadmap, industry players target to achieve a 10-percent global market share and make up as much as 8.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product by 2010.
Alternative locations outside Metro Manila are being developed to expand the industry.
Already 16 "Next Wave Cities" have been identified so far:
Bacolod, Baguio, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Clark/Angeles, Davao, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Legaspi, Lipa, and Sta. Rosa; the municipalities of Bacoor in Cavite and Cainta in Rizal; the province of Camarines Sur; Balanga and Urdaneta .
"There are many cities all around the country that have the resources although have limited infrastructure and technologies," de Rivera said.
For its part, the government will intensify the implementation of its ICT development projects.
Services exports are expected to outpace growth of merchandise exports in the next three years.
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