TeleDevelopment Services Inc. to help accelerate talent development initiatives in the country

Fifth call center and training convention to address BPAP IT-BPO Road Map goal for 2016

(Manila, Philippines) – Despite the steady growth of the BPO industry, particularly the call center sector, talent availability continues to be a problem that the industry needs to address, according to TeleDevelopment Services (TDS) president Jon Kaplan.

“The Philippines has recently surpassed India in terms of call center jobs and revenues. The outlook in the call center industry continues to be bright and it is projected that if this growth is sustained, more complex services and even more skilled talent are expected and required. However, supply for talent with specific skills may be lacking and this is what we’re trying to address,” furthered Kaplan.

In 2010, according to the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP), the Philippine call center industry earned US$6.3 billion in revenues, a 70% contribution to the estimated US$9 billion revenues earned by the BPO industry. This year, the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) projected that revenues will increase to US$11 billion. In terms of jobs created, the association predicted that 84,000 more jobs will be created this year.

However, finding the right talent that fit the requirements of companies remains a challenge for the industry. Data from BPAP show that the hiring rate in call center companies is still low, as only 3–6% of call center applicants are hired. “The industry can turn to training and certification programs to ensure that quality manpower is available. This is also applicable to existing call center employees to maximize their potential and drive productivity for the company,” said Kaplan.

Talent development continues to be key to achieving the goal of BPAP’s 2011-2016 Road Map, which mentioned that the industry can employ up to 1.3 million Filipinos and achieve US$25 million in revenues by 2016 if the industry can sustain current conditions.

To support the BPO industry and drive talent development in the country, TDS, along with its events partner, TeamAsia, is holding its fifth annual call center and BPO training convention on February 22 and 23. Entitled “The Web Effect: Collaboration, Interdependence, and Growth,” the convention aims to respond to talent development concerns such as enhancing quality and productivity techniques to provide quality service to its clients through its people.

“As an active BPAP member, TeamAsia is proud to be part of activities that actively boost talent development initiatives such as the TDS convention. We believe that the issues and challenges of the industry need to be visible to all stakeholders, and that we should continue our efforts to support the industry by promoting it as a viable employment sector, and as a high-value revenue earner for the economy. TeamAsia has been an active partner in many BPO-related initiatives, and the TDS convention is just one of many partnerships and activities we are honored to be involved in,” said TeamAsia President Monette Hamlin-Iturralde.

The convention will highlight talent development experts from respected companies and organizations such as BPAP, Media Farm Global, Accenture, Pearson Education Platforms and Services, People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP), and Cisco Systems, among others.

TDS is a global consulting, recruiting, and training company for contact centers. The company provides clients with global outsourcing and back-office solutions since 1991 and has supported 450 captive and outsourced teleservices and BPO providers’ human capital as well as processed development needs.

For more information, visit the website at http://www.tdstrainingconvention.com/.