Tuesday, October 16, 2007 City still has to convince BPOs it's worth relocating By Carlo P. Mallo
ENTREPRENEUR Joji Ilagan-Bian believes that Davao City must first prove to the multi-national business processes outsourcing (BPO) firms that Southern Mindanao has the manpower that they need.
"Relocating to the city is the next step," Ilagan-Bian said in an interview Monday. Most BPOs are based in Metro Manila and in Metro Cebu. There are less than five BPOs operating in the city, although the city is one of the primary sources of BPO agents.
Ilagan-Bian said that in order to lure the BPO's to relocate in the city, it must be able to establish first that the city can actually provide the manpower needed by the BPO's.
"If the city can actually provide the work force the BPO's would then put up shop here instead of flying them out of the city," Ilagan-Bian added, "And plus the cost of doing business in the city is cheaper."
Ilagan-Bian aims to prove to the major players of the BPO industry of the country that indeed Davao City can cater to their demands as far as work force is concerned through the Career Gateways 2007 on Wednesday.
"It will be the biggest jobs fair in the city and throughout Mindanao with eight of the biggest call centers taking part," Ilagan-Bian said.
"We are expecting more than 2,000 applicants for the Davao leg and more or less 40 percent of them would be accepted," Ilagan-Bian said.
Career Gateways 2007 is slated Wednesday, October 17, at the SM City Davao Entertainment Plaza and will be brought to General Santos City on Friday, October 19.
