Bay Hewitt participated in the recently concluded 2nd Rountable Discussion of the University of Asia and the Pacific.
With the theme "Making Education Respond to BPO Industry Needs," Principal Consultant Oscar Fudalan Jr. attended the event on behalf of the Bay Hewitt Group.
Organized by the Center for Research and Communication of UA&P, the forum aimed to gather professionals from the BPO industry, academe, and government to exchange views on how to make education respond to the fast-growing business of outsourcing in the Philippines.
Dr. Bernardo Villegas opened the forum by giving some figures on the current and expected growth of the IT-BPO services sector in the country.
Painting a realistic picture of the BPO as a workplace and the current situation, Mr. Aldrin Dilug, Head of Finance for Convergys Philippines gave some remarks about the BPO being a potential destination of graduates regardless of their age, gender, or background.
Ms. Penny Bongato, Managing Director for Talent Development of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines communicated to the group the desired characteristics of graduates for BPO work. Admittedly, Ms. Bongato said that only 5-8% of all interviewed applicants actually make it, which has alarmed stakeholders in the industry.Representatives from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Department of Science and Technology responded with action plans on the challenge to improve the set of competencies of graduates to employ them as BPO professionals.
Dr. Maria Teresita Semana, Director of the Office of the Policy, Planning, and Research and Information cited numerous memorandum orders and policies that have been ordered by CHED to slowly bridge the gap in the mismatch of the graduates produced and the actual needs of BPO organizations.
Further, Ms. Patricia May Abejo, Director of the Cyberservices Group/ICT Industry Project Management Team of the DOST, provided some ongoing and upcoming measures to improve the ICT skills of graduates.
Closing the program, Mr. Benedict Hernandez, Chair of the Executive Committee of the Information Technology and Business Processing Association of the Philippines expressed that "the stars have aligned," with representatives from various sectors meeting together to help the BPO industry.
Dr. Antonio Torralba hosted the event.