The public and the private sector has expanded an Information Technology-business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) training program to the cost of P500 million to help 65,000 ‘Near Hire’ workers get a job within a couple of month.
‘Near Hire’ applicants are those who have applied for an IT-BPO job but still require additional training to raise their skill levels to meet the full requirements of an It-BPO job.
Hence, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) the other day to expand the IT-BPO Industry-Based Training for Work Scholarship Program (I-TWSP).
The program fast-tracks the conversion of thousands of ‘Near Hire’ IT-BPO job applicants and hopefuls to full-fledged qualified IT-BPO full-time workers in 2-3 months.
Only trainees who have been certified Near Hires by members of BPAP and its partner associations can avail of the scholarships.
The nationwide I-TWSP includes not only voice or call center training but also covers important segments of Non-Voice BPO such as legal, health care information management, publishing, animation, game development, and software development.
“Our training give scholars the crucial skill sets they need to improve the odds of them being hired, “TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva explained.
“By expanding the pool of qualified, globally competitive, job-ready workforce which IT-BPO companies need, we also address the current talent supply gaps in the industry,” he added.
The P500-million funding for the I-TWSP is a key initial component of the government and IT-BPO industry’s Roadmap 2016 to increase total industry generated jobs from 1.8 million in 2010 (500,000 direct and 1.3 million indirect) to 4.5 million in 2010 to $25 billion in 2016.
President Benigno S. Aquino III approved the additional P500 million training budget at the BPAP sponsored International Outsourcing Summit last week (October 12, 2011).
“This is as a reasonable investment by the government for the employment and the revenue potential of the industry,” quipped Secretary Florencio Abad of the Department of Budget and Management.
In order to augment TESDA’s funding, BPAP and its partners committed to establish and maintain a training, development fund for additional training of ‘Near Hires’ within the industry.
They will set aside at least 20% of the total training cost for each graduate hired in call center training and 10% of the total training cost for each graduate hired in medical transcription, software, animation and game development.

Source: Manila Bulletin - October 22, 2011