Digital minister urges upskilling as AI threatens Jamaica’s BPO sector
KINGSTON, JAMAICA — Jamaica’s Minister for Digital Transformation, Dana Morris Dixon, warns that the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) may disrupt the flourishing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry.
During the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica’s forum, the minister advocated immediate workforce upskilling to avoid this problem.
“We need to upskill our people, and we can’t start thinking about it tomorrow; it has to be now because the technology is already here… They have to be a part of this world going forward and the only way that is going to happen is through upskilling and reskilling,” stated Dixon.
She also suggested moving the BPO workforce up the value chain by focusing on opportunities in cybersecurity, coding, software development, and data centers.
However, Anand Biradar, the President of the Global Services Association of Jamaica, reassured that the sector is prepared for the shift, anticipating more job opportunities and increased wages for BPO employees handling complex tasks.
Professor Densil Williams, Principal of the University of the West Indies — Mona campus, added that AI is more likely to create opportunities in the BPO sector than cause substantial job loss in the outsourcing sector.
