BPO industry to add up to 70,000 agents annually despite AI threat
Despite the threat of automation and artificial intelligence, the country’s business process outsourcing industry is expected to add up to 70,000 agents annually, and to post additional revenues of USD1 billion this year, according to the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) in its latest projections. The continued hiring in the industry will be boosted by the retooling of its workforce to weather the shift to artificial intelligence, says the report. CCAP president Jojo Uligan, however, stressed that the projection was based on the original 2016 industry roadmap, and will now depend on how the government will implement the proposed second package of the new tax reform. The roadmap forecast that call center revenues will hit USD13 billion in 2018. Uligan said foreign companies are still seeing the Philippines as a good outsourcing destination due to the Filipinos’ English language skills, high empathy for customers and its tax incentives.
