IRENE SINO-CRUZ
The prospects of the IT/ BPM industry remains bright but the Philippines has to address the mismatch of talents, the high cost of business and rationalization of government regulations.
Jack Madrid, president and chief executive of the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines, said he sees bright prospects for the industry.
โIโm really rather bullish of the prospects of our industry, Mr. Madrid noted during the roundtable discussion during the first day of the 2-day Go Tech Cebu: ICT/BPM Summit being held at the Quest Hotel in Cebu City.
He said the Philippines has a demographic advantage that goes beyond English proficiency. โThe world knows that when they reach out for resolution, through call or email, they will get it.โ
He noted that the IT/BPM sector had a very strong 2021 performance. โWe were one of the very few industries that actually showed growth and we added 120,000 jobs for Filipinos. This brings out industry (jobs) total to 1.44 million at the end of 2021. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, we added 23,000 jobs. Thatโs a total of 143,000 jobs during the challenging pandemic period.โ
The industry also contributed $29.49 billion to the countryโs economy, a 10.6 percent increase over the previous year.
He maintained that the double-digit growth indicated that sector is far from being a sunset industry as it is now experiencing not just a recovery but a resurgence.
Mr. Madrid, however, emphasized the need to address various concerns such as the mismatch of skills.
He said the country has to undertake reskilling and upskilling of its labor force as demand for higher-paying skills is on Bright prospects for IT/BPM industry.
The prospects of the IT/ BPM industry remains bright but the Philippines has to address the mismatch of talents, the high cost of business and rationalization of government regulations.
Jack Madrid, president and chief executive of the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines, said he sees bright prospects for the industry.
โIโm really rather bullish of the prospects of our industry, Mr. Madrid noted during the roundtable discussion during the first day of the 2-day Go Tech Cebu: ICT/BPM Summit being held at the Quest Hotel in Cebu City.
He said the Philippines has a demographic advantage that goes beyond English proficiency. โThe world knows that when they reach out for resolution, through call or email, they will get it.โ
He noted that the IT/BPM sector had a very strong 2021 performance. โWe were one of the very few industries that actually showed growth and we added 120,000 jobs for Filipinos.
This brings out industry (jobs) total to 1.44 million at the end of 2021. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, we added 23,000 jobs. Thatโs a total of 143,000 jobs during the challenging pandemic period.โ
The industry also contributed $29.49 billion to the countryโs economy, a 10.6 percent increase over the previous year.
The industry is a pillar of the countryโs economy driving investments, employment and real estate.
The IT/BPM is the 2nd largest industry with P328.6 billion investments generating almost 970,000 direct jobs in Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
The industry ranked 1st in terms of job contributions with 100,000 hiring positions.
It also remains the single largest absorber of office space totalling 256,000 sq.m. for 2021.
Madrid maintained that the double-digit growth indicated that sector is far from being a sunset industry as it is now experiencing not just a recovery but a resurgence.
Mr. Madrid, however, emphasized the need to address various concerns such as the mismatch of skills.
He said the country has to undertake reskilling and upskilling of its labor force as demand for higher-paying skills is on the rise.
