President Benigno S. Aquino III led the inauguration Wednesday of the additional center of the outsourcing provider ExlService Holdings Inc. at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.
In his speech during the inauguration, the President thanked the ExlService leadership for expanding its operations in the Philippines noting that its bigger operation is a good start for the country as it enters a new year.
ExlService expansion in the Philippines is a manifestation of the renewed investors’ confidence for the Philippines under the new government, the President said.
“Since I assumed office many expressed confidence on our country. But like I’ve said in inaugurations like this there is no greater expression of confidence than actually doing business here,” he stressed.
“Rest assured that as you continue doing business here, we will continue doing what we can to make things easier for you,” he said.
The Chief Executive expressed confidence that ExlService, like other business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, would be able to hire enough qualified personnel that is why the government launched the industry based training-for-work scholarship program under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
The program provides free training to potential BPO workers in the contact center, software development, animation and medical transcription sectors, the President said.
He reported that as of January 4, 2012, the government released more than P140 million of the P500 million allocated for the BPO sector under the disbursement acceleration program, which is equivalent to over 23,000 scholarships.
The government also continues to work with the Business Process Outsourcing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) for the training and job generation program, the President said.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is also working to improve the English proficiency of the country’s college students in preparation for BPO and call center jobs, he added.
To create more jobs outside Metro Manila, the President said, the government has been promoting next wave cities initiative to expand call center and BPO locations in the country that include the cities of Cebu, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro, he said.
“We are doing what we can for the BPO sector because we believe that your success goes hand in hand with national development. Your continued confidence has allowed us to be a global leader in the industry,” the President said.
As long as there are people who lack job opportunities and as long as there is prevalence in poverty, the government will continue to work to improve the lives of the people, the President said.
“We will strive to become even better, to have more streamlined processes, to have an even more skilled work force, to create an even more viable economic space so that we will be leaders in this industry in the foreseeable future,” he said.
ExlService, a New York-based outsourcing and transformation services company, delivers highly complex operations in insurance, healthcare, customer service, finance, accounting and legal support services.
ExlService’s expanded facility is expected to create 1,000 high-level jobs in the rapidly growing BPO industry. Its pioneer site in the Philippines currently employs more than 1,500 professionals.