A decade and a half ago there was the emergence of the outsourcing industry in cebu with its epicenter in Cebu City. During that time, outsourcing was always equated as “call center”. The ambiance of the center of the industry in the name of Cebu IT park was like a little makati, developments left and right.
5 - years after, blue chip companies and Silicon Valley giants took the move to join the junction of the young stronghold developing Philippines BPO Cebu industry. Filipinos being in the top 20 in the English Proficiency Index plus the low cost of labor was a factor. These movements in the sector have created thousands of jobs out of the unemployment of cebuano graduates during that time and attracted foreign companies to CEBU invest in Cebuano talents. It created a tectonic shift in Philippine labor not to mention the 7 - 15% contribution of the entire industry in the countries’ Gross Domestic Product.
Another 5 years forward then and now, BPO have incorporated new industries in the platter. From sales directed outsourcing, the new industries that came through were in the field of research and development, engineering, accounting and finance, design, insurance and shared services. These fields were embraced thru local off-shore offices and virtual assistant employment. The BPO industry knew no boundaries in front of technological advancement.
Year by year, development of the BPO industry in Cebu became the unboxing of Cebuano talents in various fields setting limitless job descriptions to a new level. Various faces of a BPO were given birth from traditional agent to administrative positions. Chat support, virtual assistant ,team lead, supervisor, business analyst, credit specialist, lead generalist, business development manager are the common in-between positions.
In the near future, we are seeing new developments of the industry outside the epicenter and breaking out new ridges to reach the unreachable areas years back and creating more decent jobs for the Cebuanos and in the Visayas region.
