Vol. XXII, No. 196-A [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Saturday, May 9, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
Partnership between an international business process outsourcing (BPO) firm and an academic institution in Mindanao became a strategic measure to develop a more competitive labor market and address increasing attrition cases.
HP Outsourcing Philippines, Inc., a subsidiary of Hubport Group, will establish a 24-hour facility in the campus of the Iligan Institute of Technology (IIT), part of Mindanao State University (MSU) system, that will serve as a remote office for Hubport’s commercial operations.
The facility will also serve as a virtual computer laboratory for the on-the-job training of IIT students on Web design, animation, transcription services and other skills, with the expectation that selected students will eventually be hired by Hubport.
"This is the first instance that a center for excellence, such as MSU-IIT, and a BPO firm will coalesce to train people," said Renne Subido, deputy program manager for business development of USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program, which facilitated the tie-up between Hubport and the university.
According to him, this will ensure that the skills of local labor pool match industry requirements.
"Despite the economic downturn, the global demand for outsourced IT services continues to grow," said Xavier Eric Manalastas, COO of the Hubport Group. "The partnership with MSU-ITT adds to our capability to deploy a skilled IT workforce at par with international standards."
Mr. Subido also mentioned that most of the cases of attrition in some call center firms are basically due to "culture shock", where most employees who came from provinces decided to just go back after failing to fully adjust with the "metro culture."
"And by delivering BPO opportunities to their provinces, attrition will be lessened," he added.
As the outsourcing industry grows and demand for labor begins to outstrip supply in Manila and in ICT hubs such as Davao, more firms are establishing virtual offices in alternative locations like Zamboanga, General Santos, Cotabato, and Marawi.
"Investors are pleasantly surprised by the number of workers with high-level ICT skills in these Mindanao cities, which have some of the better universities in the country," said Mr. Subido.
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