The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, January 16, 2018

Welcome to Inside Outsourcing: The Outsourcing Week in Review

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Plans to improve the country’s internet services saw progress this week as Information and Communications Technology Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr announced that the Mislatel consortium, the new third Telco operator, could be operational by the middle of the year. Help has been forthcoming from various players to fast track its roll-out of services, including Globe Telecom, which said it is open to discussion on sharing its cell sites and cell towers with the new company. President Duterte has been keeping up the pressure, and has again made it clear that he wants no delays in implementation.

Moves to keep the upgrade of the country’s labor force moving forward were also announced. The president signed off on the new working-from-home bill that aims to help develop home-based working, and protect those who undertake it. The Department of Labor and Employment endorsed the JobsFit 2022 report which identified 13 new occupations in the country on which attention should focused to equip workers with skills to fill. It noted that the majority of these occupations belong to the IT-BPM sector. Meanwhile, IBPAP has launched its ‘Learning Switch Portal’, developed in partnership with CloudSwyft Global Systems, which provides open access to hundreds of Microsoft’s current modern workplace technology courses. In Davao, the Department of Trade and Industry in collaboration with the Department of Information and Communications Technology started a training program to help the city’s unemployed find online work. The Philippine Economic Zone Authority also noted that despite a large decline in foreign investment in 2018 compared with the previous year, the IT sector bucked the trend and grew, and the total number of jobs created by new investments had actually risen year on year.

The outlook also appears rosy for some of the big players in the BPO sector. TCS, Infosys, and HCL all forecast that strong Q3 earnings were likely. Alorica said it anticipates solid growth in 2019, and iQor is planning a major expansion of its operations in the Philippines. Telus International Philippines was pleased to announce that according to a recent 2018 Pulsecheck Survey, a yearly staff engagement survey conducted by Aon, that its score is 17% higher than world-class standards. Accenture said it is set to acquire Orbium, a Swiss management consultancy and technology services provider to the financial services industry.

Out of the capital area, The Canadian Chamber of Commerce visited Bacolod and other emerging centers as part of an investors’road show of Canadian firms eager to invest in the country. In Cebu, battling against adverse publicity of crimes against BPO workers, the local police force fought back against allegations by a BPO worker that it was ignoring calls for help. Subsequent investigation revealed the claims were based on hearsay, and the BPO worker in question is now assisting the police with their enquiries as to whether there was any truth in the allegations.

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

NEWS THIS WEEK

14 January 2019

• Duterte signs working-from-home bill into law – read more…
• Third telco to be operational by mid-2019 – DICT – read more…
• PEZA reports P140bn investment in 2018 and jobs boost – read more…

11 January 2019

• Telus’ engagement rate exceeds world-class standards – read more…
• Alorica forecasts significant growth in 2019 – read more…
• Accenture to acquire Orbium – read more…

10 January 2019

• DOLE pushes for workers to train in data sciences, analytics – read more…
• Globe willing to sharing cell towers with Mislatel – read more…
• IBPAP launches online learning site with CloudSwyft – read more…

9 January 2019

• iQor eyes expansion in Philippines – read more…
• Davao City’s jobless to receive state training for online work – read more…
• TCS, Infosys, HCL forecast to report strong Q3 earnings – read more…

8 January 2019

• Duterte wants no delays in new telco award – read more…
• Canadian chamber and Bacolod ICT council to explore opportunities – read more…
• BPO worker helps to shed light on robbery incidents in Cebu’s IT Park – read more…

Read more Inside Outsourcing Newsletters here:

1. The Outsourcing Week in Review: December 18, 2019
2. The Outsourcing Week in Review: January 30, 2018