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Welcome to Inside Outsourcing: The Outsourcing Week in Review
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
The Philippine IT-BPO industry is expecting $29 billion in revenues and an additional 160,000 job opportunities for 2022, according to IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) chair Benedict Hernandez. While most sectors have suffered losses due to the pandemic, the IT-BPO sector continues to be a fast-growing dollar export contributor to the economy – it even managed to hire 23,000 new employees in 2020!
Online job portal Jobstreet Philippines has again named the IT-BPO sector as the second biggest job contributor, especially for fresh graduates, for 2021. The BPO industry, which accounted for 14% of the total job offerings, placed next to the Education sector (21%), which remained as “top specialization” due to ESL or English as a second language teaching opportunities.
It looks like remote work may be here to stay, as many outsourcing firms located in economic zones are pushing for prolonged remote work considerations. BPOs were initially given government incentives to allow employees to work from home until just September 12 this year. However, IBPAP is looking to extend the Work From Home (WFH) guidelines and incentives – a request that is supported by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Over the weekend, Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments managing head Ceferino Rodolfo expressed the agency’s support, saying they will be proposing a resolution for the FIRB to approve the WFH arrangement even beyond September 12.
Despite the rally behind the remote work arrangement, a Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) report prepared for Filinvest Land revealed that the IT-BPO industry will continue to drive demand for office space. The report noted that while the WFH setup was “generally feasible,” it is faced with internet connection issues and runs the risk of data security breaches.
The Malacañang Palace is determined to fulfil its commitment to fully vaccinate the population within the year, despite a recent report by the UK think tank Pantheon Macroeconomics that said the Philippines will likely reach herd immunity by 2023 based on its current vaccination rate. Well, it looks like the government is being careful as it eases the country out of lockdown. Despite the consistently lower COVID-19 cases of late, Metro Manila and the surrounding provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal will remain under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) with restrictions until July 15 – unless extended (again!).
Due to the restricted public mobility, S&P Global Ratings lowered its Philippine growth forecast from March’s 7.9% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to just six per cent. S&P said, “a good chunk of the substantial base effects that we had expected to boost domestic demand growth has likely been diminished, leading us to revise our growth forecast down to 6.0% from 7.9%.”
PwC Philippines Vice-Chairman and Assurance Managing Partner Roderick Danao said some companies in the country are “anticipating the surge in demand for data-driven by increased e-commerce activities” and in response are in the process of building numerous mega-data centers. In addition, US electronics firms expressed “strong interest” in the Philippines as “an alternative or a complementary location for their factories here in Asia.” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said they have also gotten inquiries from companies engaged in artificial intelligence (AI) regarding investment opportunities in the country.
In further updates, online payments firm, and outsourcing industry proponent, Payoneer went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange after merging with FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp., a blank-check SPAC run by Bancorp founder Betsy Cohen. Payoneer Global now trades under the ticker symbol “PAYO.O,” and its shares closed about 1.5% lower after its market debut on Monday.
In other BPO news, leading outsourcing firm Infinit-O has announced the launch of it’s COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign. The firm independently acquired vaccines in sufficient quantities to vaccinate all employees and their eligible dependents starting July 2021. Mike Gunion, Vice President for Sales and Marketing, said, “[This is] a continuation of our cultural values that we hold dear as a company which includes, of course, taking care of our employees, our team members and our clients in a special way by actually acquiring the vaccine proactively rather than waiting for other types of assistance or interventions so we can be ahead of the curve.”
Global BPO provider Telus is looking to hire 800 employees for its newly opened Iloilo office! Telus’ Iloilo site is its seventh local office and its first outside Metro Manila, and currently houses 350 trainee staff. Overall, the firm has over 18,000 local employees working on customer experience, digital solutions, and information technology. It looks like Telus is really loving the Filipino workforce…
As a final note, we at Inside Outsourcing would like to express our condolences to the friends and family of former Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. Aquino reportedly passed away in his sleep, at age 61, last Thursday 24 June.
During his presidency, Aquino backed significant economic reforms and worked to curb corruption and end poverty in the country, embracing a campaign for good governance known as “Daang Matuwid” (the righteous path). Under his administration, the Philippine economy grew by an average of 6.2% and was hailed as the fastest-growing economy in Asia.
Rest in peace, Noynoy
Thursday, July 1, 2021
NEWS THIS WEEK
30 June 2021
- IT-BPM sector to drive office space demand – read article…
- PEZA urges Israeli firms to invest in PH – read article…
- PEZA signs MoU with state universities in Baguio and Benguet – read article…
29 June 2021
- BPO sector named 2nd job contributor for fresh grads – read article…
- DTI supports extended WFH setup for BPO firms – read article…
- NCR, nearby provinces remain under GCQ until July 15 – read article…
- Online payments firm Payoneer goes public after merger – read article…
28 June 2021
- PH BPOs eye long-term remote work strategy – read article…
- BPO industry eyes more jobs, increase in revenue by 2022 – read article…
- Ateneo de Manila, BagoSphere inks deal on training Filipino youth – read article…
- Infinit-O launches COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign for its employees and their dependents – read article…
25 June 2021
- Former PH president Benigno Aquino III dies at 61 – read article…
- E-commerce demand raises interest in PH data centers – read article…
- S&P sees 6% PH economic growth in 2021 – read article…
- BSP keeps interest rates at record low – read article…
24 June 2021
- US electronics firms eye PH as alternative hub – read article…
- Telus hiring 800 employees for new Iloilo site – read article…
- Palace sticks to 2021 vaccination target amid doubts – read article…
