BPO Industry Suffering From Manpower Shortage – TESDA
“They have a shortage of something like 15,000 to 25,000 call handlers,” Technical Education and Skills Development Authority deputy director general Aniceto Bertiz reported.
The Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) industry continues to suffer from a manpower shortage, according to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
TESDA deputy director general Aniceto Bertiz III said the agency is working closely with the BPO industry to address the prevailing manpower shortage.
“They have a shortage of something like 15,000 to 25,000 call handlers,” Bertiz reported during the "Laging Handa" public briefing on Tuesday, Dec. 13.
Bertiz said TESDA and big IT-BPO companies have partnered to provide the necessary skill training for those interested to work as call handlers.
He said the industry is offering the equipment for the training in exchange for the eventual hiring of the needed workers.
Aside from the business community, Bertiz said, TESDA is also closely working with local government units to resolve the job-skills match problem in the country.
“We are also participating in different skills competitions worldwide so we may adopt new technology,” Bertiz added in a mix of Filipino and English.
Recently, Bertiz said, TESDA attended the ASEAN-Technical and Vocational Education and Training Council meeting where emerging skills were discussed.
But he said TESDA is focusing efforts on developing the required skills for industries – agriculture, construction, IT-BPO and health care – which President Marcos wants to prioritize.
Marcos previously called on labor stakeholders to facilitate the diversification of skills of Filipino workers through micro-credentials.
Bertiz said TESDA is already offering different courses that could provide short skills-focused qualifications or micro-credentials.
For one, he said TESDA is implementing a “ladderized” program, including three-year diploma courses. “These are for those who are not ready yet, or not yet entering regular degree courses,” he pointed out.
Those who took up three-year diploma courses from TESDA can already qualify for employment after graduation, he said, noting that almost nine out of 10 graduates immediately get employed.
“We have 86 percent of our graduates getting jobs not just in the country, but abroad as well,” Bertiz said.
There are over 4,000 public and private training centers where TESDA skills courses are offered for free. TESDA is also offering online courses.
