Call Center opportunities beckon to Ilonggos
The sweet Ilonggo temperament and his mellifluous accent are working wonders for Iloilo's young graduates who have found doors of opportunity opening wide for them in the call center industry. Neil Laas was a budding journalist with a local publication in 2003 when he was encouraged to try becoming a call center 'agent' (roughly, one who makes or receives calls for a call center client). He passed the training with flying colors and joined a batch of several other Ilonggos from Iloilo and Roxas City who were brought to the call center in Clark, Pampanga. Within a few months, he became a supervisor. A political science graduate from the University of San Agustin, Neil is back in Iloilo to gear himself up in the pursuit of a law degree but also to share the knowledge and experience he has gained. Neil is now with St. Roberts International School which offers language training programs as well as courses in HRM and Caregiving with guaranteed employment.
The experience is incredible, said Neil who speaks English with a twang that could easily be mistaken for American. 'Once you have undergone the process, you can be ready for anything,' said Neil.
Joining Neil in preaching the call center gospel here is another Ilongga, Colleen Marie Reyes who's program director for Cyber City, a major call center operator based in Clark, and two other related firms. Colleen, an education graduate from West Visayas University, is only in her mid-20s. Same as Neil.
Colleen said she's here in Iloilo to help young people like her and Neil enjoy the call center experience. 'We're looking for at least 300 fresh graduates who will be trained and eventually employed as call center agents.'
On behalf of Cyber City, Colleen and Neil are accepting applications for bachelor's degree graduates for training and employment as call center agents. They will be interviewing applicants on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at the 2nd Floor of Robinsons Place Iloilo.
The call center industry is a product of advances in the telecommunications industry. Many US-based companies are 'outsourcing' their services to call centers to conduct marketing activities. Asia, particularly India and the Philippines, are the main beneficiaries of this trend largely because wages can be as much as 80 per cent lower than those of their American counterparts. In the Philippines, the rates are about $6 to $10 per hour per seat as opposed to $50 - $80 in America. India can offer as low as $4, but many prefer the Philippines because 'Filipinos are far more familiar with the nuances of American English. When clients dial a 1-800 number, they think they are still talking to an American when, in fact, it is a Filipino on the other side.' The board of Investments said the Philippine call center industry is growing at an average of 100 percent over the past four years and expects call center seat to grow to 20,000 seats over the next 12 months.
The Department of Trade and Industry is more bullish. The DTI said it expects call center seats to reach 80,000 seats next year 'as a result of the government's efforts to transform the Philippines into a global 'e-services' hub.'
There may be enough reason for the optimism. Only recently, Dell, the world's largest personal computer producer, said it was setting up a major call center in the Philippines by February 2006. In support of this move, Dell opened a recruitment and training center in Makati early this month.
Also, in late October, Five9, also a major call center industry player, briefed President Gloria Arroyo and senior cabinet members, on their plan to expand operations in the Philippines 'by creating hundreds of small and medium sized call centers that are expected to generate more than 90,000 jobs over the next twelve months. Small-to-medium sized hosted call centers are project to become a 45 billion industry by 2008. With the Philippines setting itself up to become the global leader in customer care, Iloilo is not far behind. City first lady Mrs. Rosalie Treñas disclosed recently that at least a couple of major players in the Philippine Call Center industry are poised to set up shop here. This provides another opportunity to generate jobs for our graduates, she said.