The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has given P350 million of its training funds to the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P), as a way of helping that organization achieve its 2010 targets, particularly in terms of ensuring a sufficient pool of qualified manpower.
In a ceremony held yesterday, leaders of the BPA/P and TESDA signed the memorandum of agreement that will effectively transfer the multi-million training fund, which is part of TESDA’s PGMA Training for Work Scholarship Program.
BPA/P Chief Executive Officer Oscar R. Sañez told reporters in a press conference that the amount will address one of the three main issues outlined in BPA/P’s development road map, namely: quality and supply of talent.
“We have to make sure that we have enough supply [of qualified labor] — that is the number one concern of the industry,” Mr. Sañez said.
Last Nov. 5, the 220-member BPA/P unveiled its plans for 2010 that aim to corner 10% of the $130-billion global business process outsourcing (BPO) market and generate nearly a million jobs by then.
Other components of the road map are “next wave” cities — alternative outsourcing locations that offer a good business environment and decongest Metro Manila.
TESDA Director General Augusto Boboy Syjuco said this year’s allocation is a significant increase from the P60 million given to that organization last year.
“We expect this little investment to help us attain the goal of 10% [BPO] market share in 2010,” Mr. Syjuco said.