BPAP launches “Work Abroad. Live Here.” career portal

Campaign to raise awareness of global IT-BPO career opportunities for Filipino job seekers

(Manila, Philippines, April 3, 2012) – The Philippine IT-BPO industry is taking its goal of generating 1.3 million jobs by 2016 seriously, according to the top Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) executive. To increase awareness of global career opportunities in the industry among new graduates and their parents, BPAP has launched a career portal called “Work Abroad. Live Here.”

The portal, managed by award-winning strategic marketing communications firm TeamAsia and developed by Cloud Sherpas, is one piece of a larger campaign to acquaint graduates and professionals considering a career shift with the Philippines’ vibrant IT-BPO industry, which spans more than 20 different functional and vertical segments according to BPAP president and CEO Benedict Hernandez.

“We have jobs for animators, game developers, IT professionals, software developers, financial analysts, accountants, doctors and nurses, and many other professionals” he said.

“The problem is that they just don’t know where to find this kind of jobs that allow them to work in a global environment while living in the Philippines,” Hernandez explained. “The career portal is intended for students, fresh graduates, young professionals, and experienced workers who want to work for world-renowned companies that provide their workforces financially and professionally rewarding careers. They don’t have to go overseas for great jobs,” Hernandez added.

Among BPAP’s principal target for the campaign are an estimated 517,000 college graduates this year, who will look for jobs during the summer. According to BPAP, job postings on the portal will include an expanding array of opportunities available outside Metro Manila. Hernandez said emerging IT-BPO hubs all over the Philippines are experiencing significant demand for professionals.

“Fast-expanding IT-BPO centers in Davao, Laguna, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cavite, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Malolos, Baguio, and Dumaguete, are also in need of professionals to fill jobs in voice and non-voice BPO in these cities,” Hernandez explained.

According to a study recently published by BPAP and the Department of Science and Technology’s Information and Communications Technology Office, Next Wave Cities^TM, the top ten cities in the Philippines will graduate 12,000 tertiary students this year, and have regional workforces with at least 30% professionals. Hernandez believes the “Work Abroad. Live Here.” portal will facilitate their employment in the IT-BPO industry.

The portal will be supported by a Facebook page and Twitter account—also called “Work Abroad. Live Here.” —according to Hernandez. Aside from the brand visibility campaign, BPAP, member companies, and government agencies are undertaking a number of initiatives to increase the size of the labor pool. They include near-hire training and developing and teaching IT-BPO-oriented curricula in both private and public schools.