5,000 BPO jobs up for grabs at city job fair

VERA FILES

Call center agents are seen busy on the floor of a business process outsourcing (BPO) company in Iloilo City. Some 52 BPO companies will be joining the Iloilo City Job Fair on Nov. 28, as more or less 5,000 posts are available for application, related Mayor Jose Espinosa III.

ILOILO City – The Iloilo City Government will be conducting a job fair intended for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies at the third floor of the City Hall on Nov. 28 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Mayor Jose Espinosa III encouraged applicants to grab the opportunity to apply for the available outsourcing posts.

“Some 52 BPO companies will be joining the job fair as they need new employees and they will be hiring 5,000 personnel,” said Espinosa.

“BPO employees are safe during night shift since maximum police visibility is deployed in areas where BPO companies are located,” he assured.

The City Government plans to put up speech laboratory at Technical Institute of Iloilo City (TIIC) to help residents, especially students, to teach and practice verbal communication so they land jobs more easily in the BPO industry.

Espinosa discussed with and directed TIIC Molo Campus administrator Mathilde Octavio to look for a specialist in supervising the speech lab because BPO firms are scouting to employ more Ilonggos well-trained and adept in the English language.

‘SMART’ BPO PLAY

“The Iloilo office market is ripe for growth [especially in the BPO sector],” said real estate consulting firm Colliers International in its second quarter provincial property report.

While Manila is seeing a gradual slowdown in investments from business process outsourcing firms, Iloilo City remains poised for further growth and development in the sector – as more companies look to the provinces for office space and manpower, reflecting the industry’s move to the less congested countryside.

“The Iloilo office market has the foundations in place to cater to the growing BPO industry outside of Metro Manila,” said Dinbo Macaranas, senior research manager of Colliers International, in the bi-annual report. “The government thrust to promote the province as a major investment hub in the Visayas, coupled with the planned projects of the country’s major developers, provides a positive outlook for Iloilo.”

Megaworld, Ayala Land, SM Prime, and Robinsons Land have all entered the Iloilo office market beginning 2007 and focused developments in Mandurriao. Companies such as iQor, WNS, Nearsol, and Yazaki-Philippine EDS Technoserve took-up spaces last year and started operations this year.

“Colliers believes that demand for BPO space will likely continue given the aggressive promotion being undertaken by the local government as it aims to become a premier SMART (Service, Manufacturing, Agri-business, Arts and culture, Research and technology and Tourism) city of excellence,” added the research report.

The international consulting firm also cited the visit of various businessmen from Hainan and Hong Kong to the province last April and May, where they scouted for potential locations to invest in property development or the BPO industry.

“Thus, the provincial city has remained in the radar of foreign BPO investors. The number of educational institutions has also made Iloilo a center for learning in the Visayas region and consequently a viable area for companies to locate in,” Colliers said./PN

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