'We are looking at ending the year with 280,000 employees and $3.5 billion total accumulated revenues in the cyber services industries,' said Monchito Ibrahim, former president of the Philippine Computer Society who is now consultant for the CICT's Cyberservices group, in an interview with Computerworld Philippines.

According to him, one of the most significant highlights in the industry this year is the development of other cities outside Metro Manila as BPO hubs.

Many IT and BPO locators have began setting up facilities in cities and provinces like Cagayan de Oro, Dumaguete, Tacloban, Legazpi City, Iloilo, Batangas, among others.

'The education system is also beginning to turn around and address the specific needs of the industry,' Ibrahim said, adding that the government's 'Training for Work Coupon' program has also been very successful especially in the contact center industry where 62 percent of 'near-hires' trained were eventually absorbed by various companies.

Citing statistics from IRMC, a U.S.-based collections and customer service a company which has contact center operations in the Philippines, Sales said one of the main drivers for the industry's success is the low attrition rate.