Aquino OKs P500M to train call-center agents

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino 3rd has earmarked P500 million for the training of fresh graduates as call-center agents.

“I’m happy to announce that I have recently approved an additional P500 million under our stimulus package for [a] training program to be undertaken by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in partnership with your industry,” President Aquino told participants of the Third Annual International Outsourcing Summit held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Pasay City on Wednesday night.

“We’re doing all of these to match the confidence you displayed in our country and this way, as you’ve chosen the Philippines, so too are we choosing to invest in our people—to add to the arsenal of skills and qualities they already possess in order to have a globally competitive and empowered workforce,” he said.

Mr. Aquino thanked the Business Process Outsourcing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and industry stakeholders for helping the country create jobs.

The President acknowledged that while the country was considered a competitive player, there were a lot of things that needed to be done in order to meet the demands of the information technology-business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) sector, particularly in servicing huge pockets of untapped markets.

According to him, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has put programs in place to improve the capability of Filipino workers and to identify potential candidates for the industry.

Under the program, Tesda will help improve the English proficiency of candidates.

More than 140 organizations involved in the global IT-BPO industry participated in discussions on emerging markets, new technologies, and service development during the two-day international outsourcing summit.

Organized by BPAP, the summit aimed to discuss major issues affecting the industry, including opportunities such as growing acceptance of service outsourcing and the increasingly high value delivered by service providers.

Over 400 delegates and 80 speakers and panelists from Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Colombia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Norway, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States attended the two-day event. –JAIME PILAPIL, Manila Times