Strong peso, lack of workers to stump call centers — industry group

The rise of the peso against the US dollar and the lack of qualified talents will likely hinder growth of the Philippine contact center industry over the next five years. In a press briefing Monday, Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) president Benedict Hernandez told reporters that long-term sustainability of a qualified labor pool is the industry's main concern right now. "The demand is not the issue," Hernandez said, referring to the continued willingness of foreign companies to offshore their contact center capabilities to the Philippines. The problem, Hernandez said, is the lack of labor supply, as the industry hires only eight out of 100 applicants. He added that the continued rise of the peso against the dollar is compounding the problem as it translates to lower revenues for the entire industry. This year, the industry assumes an average exchange rate of P43 to P44 per dollar. "We do think about it a lot. We are not happy with this," Hernandez said. To ensure growth in the coming years, CCAP said it is undertaking an ambitious effort to transform the industry including the establishment of a Global Competitiveness Institute to maintain a healthy supply of qualified talent and a Human Resource Council to improve employee welfare and retention within the industry. High-growth sector The contact center industry has long been considered a high-growth sector growing at a compounded annual rate (CAGR) of 15 percent over the next five years. This rate, however, is lower than the 21-percent CAGR in the past five years. Hernandez said CCAP is targeting $7.1 billion in revenues this year, up 14.5 percent from last year's figures, reaching $14.7 billion by 2016. In the past five years, the industry grew from a $2.6-billion industry in 2006 to $6.2 billion in 2010. The CCAP executive said the strategy to grow in new geographical markets and higher-value skills helped the industry expand revenues. To grow, the industry is tapping markets in Europe, Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Australia for growth aside from its traditional US market. This year, the call center industry expects to grow to 406,000 workers, Hernandez said, up by about 18 percent from 344,000 last year. By 2016, CCAP said it will likely employ some 816,000 workers. —JMT/VS GMA News