BACOLOD City – The Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for Information and Communications Technology (BNEFIT) is aiming to reach 40,000 jobs this year, on the way to its goal of achieving 60,000 jobs by 2022.
“We are now close to 35,000. We have yet to confirm the figures, but we are hoping to close the year at 40,000 jobs,” BNEFIT president Hajee Birth Aquino said on Monday.
The 60,000 full-time jobs target in Negros Occidental and capital Bacolod City was set in 2016 in line with the Philippine ICT Roadmap.
As of September last year, the information technology-business process management sector has employed at least 33,000 workers with about 30 locators, including small-scale players.
Aquino said the BNEFIT itself has remained strong and true to its commitments as the organization together with the industry and academe continues to work hand-in-hand to maintain a healthy pool of talents, which is the local ICT sector’s greatest assets.
“BNEFIT is as focused as ever and we remain to be steadfast to the goals we have set forth,” he added.
Aquino said the positive results of a recently-concluded focused group discussion with a multinational software development company gives hope of bringing in 1,500 more jobs in the next two years starting as early as the third quarter of the year. (PNA)
