The Philippine Call Center Institute (PCCI) in Tagbilaran City continues to offer free training for call center employment aspirants as part of preparations for the projected growth of the province’s young business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.
PCCI, located across the Bohol Island State University-Main Campus along CPG North Ave., is currently offering 250 slots for the free training through scholarships under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
So far, only around 100 of the available slots for 2019 have been taken, said Rosemarie Bantol, scholarship focal person of TESDA Bohol, adding that the agency allocated P6,000 for each of the 250 slots.
According to Bantol, the certification received after the training will give trainees an “edge” in their employment applications but will not be a guarantee for hiring.
“Ang PCCI, naa man na silay mga partner sa industry, at least ang students nanay certificate sa contact center—edge na nila para mo-apply og trabaho, pero di g’yud assurance na mopasar,” she said.
Bantol said that trainees will need to undergo 144 hours of classes which will have flexible schedules to accommodate those who are currently employed.
Trainees should be at least be high school graduates and 18 years of age.
According to Bantol, they are still looking for more applicants for this year’s batches which will be comprised of 25 persons each.
She said that they have found Boholanos to be generally interested in employment in the BPO industry but some aspiring trainees, particularly those living in municipalities, had problems with having to travel to the city for training.
“Tungod kay ang atong skwelahan is naa sa Tagbilaran, ang taga lagyo dili mo anhi,” she said.
PCCI has been offering scholarships through TESDA since 2017 but most of its graduates previously ended up working in Cebu City before the opening of major BPO companies in Bohol.
“Karon kay naa na man tay IBEX, ug kining pohon sa atbang sa ICM basin pohon atong graduates ani na pud mo trabaho,” she said.
So far, there are two major BPO firms in the province, IBEX which opened earlier this year and TaskUs which is set to start operations in 2020.
IBEX, a US-based company with regional operating offices in countries such as the Philippines, Jamaica, UK, Nicaragua and Pakistan, is expected to initially hire a total of 1,000 employees. (A. Doydora)
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