More job opportunities, more career options. With a total workforce of 776,794 in 2012, some 137,066 of these were new hires, the country’s IT-Business Process Management industry continues to burst at the seams with a US$ 13.2-billion revenue.
“The Department of Science and Technology - Information and Communication Technology Office (DOST-ICTO) is furthering its efforts in bringing jobs to Filipinos in the countryside, as we aim to hit our target of 1.3 million full time employees working in the industry by 2016,” DOST-ICTO Executive Director Louis Napoleon C. Casambre said. DOST-ICTO is the country’s main agency handling the IT-BPM sector.
Director Casambre said that for years, the country’s IT-BPM sector has shown strength in terms of revenues, positioning the country as the best provider in voice services and second best in non-voice.
Opportunities in the industry were echoed by speakers at the recently held IT-BPM Career Talk during the National Science and Technology Week at the SMX Convention Center as they also discussed the various skills needed in it, as well as options and perks.
According to the speakers, other IT-BPM sectors such as animation, game development, health information management, and software development are quickly catching up with the popularity and capability of call centers.
Getting on the game
Alvin Juban, president of the Game Developers Association of the Philippines, cited that the country today has an estimated 4,000 game developers involved in motion graphics, motion capture, sound design, conceptualization and game quality assurance.
Poised to further boost industry manpower is the newly established Human Development Facility. Owned by the Korea International Cooperation Agency, the government of South Korea and the Department of National Defense of the Philippines , the facility is designed to strengthen the skills of Filipino professionals in animation and game development, said Juban.
Nurses, medics join the fray
Meanwhile, Dr. Josefina V. Lauchangco, president of the Health Information Management Outsourcing Association of the Philippines (HIMOAP), elaborated that a background in the medical field is a big advantage for those seeking jobs in the health information management sector such as medical transcription. She added that the number of nurses hired by HIMOAP’s member-firms in the country was estimated to reach 43,000 in 2012. They aim to raise employment numbers to 100,000 by 2016, she reported.
However, Dr. Lauchangco added that professionals from fields of specialization other than medicine are also welcome to work in the health information management outsourcing sector.
