10% of graduates outside Metro Manila ready for IT-BPM jobs

THE Information Technology and Business Processing Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) is urging players in the industry to branch out to the provinces where about 10 percent of the graduates are ready for hiring.

The IBPAP said the available manpower in areas outside of Metro Manila is huge considering an estimated 75 percent of the annual graduates in the country are in the provincial areas.

IBPAP President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Mari P. Mercado said on Friday the estimate was based on “anecdotal and experiential” observation they have on the rate of employability in the information-technology-business-process management (IT-BPM) sector of college finishers in areas outside the metropolis.

Because some of the companies would not divulge hiring information as part of trade secrets, he noted that it’s challenging for them to arrive at the exact figure.

“But I think the industry in general will agree that about 10-percent hiring rate is more or less common across the board,” Mercado stressed.

IBPAP Senior Executive Director Gillian Joyce G. Virata said over 70 percent of the IT-BPM locators in the country are in Metro Manila.

However, with 75 percent of the annual graduates residing outside of Metro Manila, outsourcing companies are located away from their potential employees.

“So it just makes sense [that] if you’re looking for more people to employ, it’s really worthwhile to look in other places,” she explained.

Virata cited Cebu, Bacolod, Baguio and Davao as the destinations where IT-BPM employment has grown very fast in the past few years.

She identified the cities of Iloilo, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), as well as Regions 1 and 3 as potential areas where they can get IT-BPM talents.

“So it’s happening, and actually right now, there is a very high interest in the Next Wave Cities,” the top executive said.

At the end of 2012 the IT-BPM industry employed 776,794, adding 137,066 net new jobs. Employment grew by 21 percent from 2011.

IBPAP expects the IT-BPM industry to generate $16 billion at the end of the year. The industry hopes to earn $25 billion by 2016 while employing 1.3 million Filipinos directly and 3.2 million indirectly.

Based on the Philippine IT-BPM road map 2012 to 2016, the country remains the No. 1 destination for the voice segment and the second most-preferred for complex non-voice sector.

To provide updates on industry issues and trends for IT-BPM players across the globe, IBPAP will spearhead the Fifth International Outsourcing Summit from October 6 to 8 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. –Roderick L. Abad, Businessmirror