ICT/BPO sector needs more workers

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines — Of the 3,008 job vacancies inside this freeport, jobs related to Information Communication Technology/Business Process Outsourcing (ICT/BPO) have been ranked number one among sectors needing to fill up vacancies during the last quarter of this year.

In a report sent by the Customer Services Department (CSD) to Clark Development Corporation (CDC) CEO-President Felipe Antonio B. Remollo, of the number of vacancies submitted to CSD, some 2,222 workers, or 75 percent of the total number of job vacancies, are needed by the ICT/BPO firms in Clark .

According to the report by CSD Manager Rodem Perez to Remollo, ICT/BPO related services include web designers and developers, programmers, technical support operators, Linux and Windows Systems administrators, English online teachers, and call center agents.

The CSD report said both Cyber City Teleservices, Inc. and Sutherland Global Services each has vacancies of 500, Nozomi Fortune Services has openings for 400 jobs while Ivonline Contents Center, Inc, is in need of 200 new workers. Others with significant job openings are Advanpoint (90), Clark On Line It Hub (50), Mepcon Phils., Inc (170), Services Resources, Inc (55), GFL System Clark Inc. (105), and Global Standard English Learning Center (75), among others.

Far second is the industrial (electronic) or the semiconductor sector which is in need of 340 workers, or 10.2 percent of the total job vacancies, to be filled up before the end of the year.

Among the firms needing to fill up vacancies is Texas Instruments Clark, which is in need of 300 personnel before end of the year. Nanox Phils., Inc., Phoenix Semiconductor Phils. Corporation, Poongsan Microtec Phils., Corporation, and SMK Electronics (Phils.) Corporation also have several openings for this year.

Moreover, there is a noticeable shift in locators’ preferences for applicants who have college credits at the very least. CSD’s latest report reflects a preference for college level applicants (53 percent or almost 1,600), and college graduates (20 percent or more than 600). In the previous months, job vacancies for high school graduates accounted for more than 50 percent of total workforce requirements for the Clark Freeport.

Perez explained that the shift in locators’ preferences can be attributed to CSD’s continuous advertisement of job vacancies, and broadcast media such as the “Jobs Fair on the Air” at GVFM 99.1, and the twice-annual Jobs Fair that his department coordinates with all stakeholders.

These efforts have allowed labor-intensive sectors to almost fill up their vacancies and they are now in the process of filling up positions for supervisory and managerial positions, the report said. –FRANCO G. REGALA, Manila Bulletin