AWS re/Start program to contribute to IBPAP’s workforce expansion goals

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) upskilling program will contribute to the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines’ (IBPAP) target to add 1.5 million more jobs to the outsourcing sector. 

AWS head of BPO CX for Asia Pacific and Japan Simon Burke said that reinforcing and upskilling employees make them more capable of working with emerging technologies like cloud and artificial intelligence (AI). 

“The AWS re/Start program is a way to contribute to IBPAP’s 1.5 million people goal [by 2028],” Burke said during the AWS BPO Contact Center Technology Forum. 

AWS re/Start is a cohort-based workforce development training program that prepares individuals for careers in the cloud and connects them to potential employers. 

According to AWS, even individuals without any background in technology can benefit from this 6-week certification course. The program is free to the learner and focused on helping unemployed or underemployed individuals launching a new career.

“What we do is we take people who do not understand the cloud and we train them in the cloud fundamentals,” Burke explained. 

“We teach them cloud-thinking,” Burke added. 

During the forum which was attended by representatives from outsourcing firms and industry leaders, technology was identified as one of the challenges faced by BPOs. AWS re/Start is being offered as a solution to this roadblock. With more people understanding cloud technology, BPOs can begin migrating into the cloud. 

IBPAP chief policy and regulatory affairs officer Celeste Ilagan said during noted during her keynote speech at the event, that cloud-based contact centers are the preferred service providers.

Last year, IBPAP released its Philippine IT-BPM Industry Roadmap 2028. Among the set goals in the roadmap is doubling the current 1.5 million BPO employee count by 2028.