The business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is optimistic about growth prospects this year as it continues to attract new and expansion investments from foreign clients to date.
About 87 percent of members of the Information Technology Business Processing Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), mostly large companies, expect to grow at 5 to 15 percent this year, according to IBPAP president Rey Untal, citing an industry survey done in the early part of the year.
That is a more optimistic range than the industry projection of 5 to 6.5 percent growth for 2021.
Untal told the Laging Handa public briefing yesterday sentiments of country heads of IBPAP members remain positive as they have been receiving orders during the current and past quarters.
The industry, which has been tagged as an essential sector during enhanced community quarantines, was one of the few industries that managed to grow in 2020 despite the global recession: 1.8 percent in headcount to 1.3 million and 1.4 percent in revenues to $26.7 billion.
According to Untal, the classification of BPO workers in the A4 priority group would hasten vaccination rollout.
This as IBPAP continues to ramp up its vaccine procurement on top of the 1.05 million doses it has earlier secured with Go Negosyo and the ICTSI Foundation. This guarantees about half a million of its workers their jabs.
Untal said the group is also working for similar tripartite agreements for Novavax and Pfizer vaccines.
He said with vaccination for BPO workers expected to start this June, ahead of the third quarter arrival of the first batch of vaccines it procured, IBPAP can use the latter for
BPO workers’ dependents, booster shots or for donation.
Untal said IBPAP is also eyeing more partnerships with local government units hosting BPO companies for the vaccine rollout after its initial tieup with the Quezon City government that gives some 67,000 BPO workers in the city access to vaccines.
