The President was referring to the recently-released International Business Report of Grant Thornton, an independently-owned and managed accounting and consulting firm, which ranked the Philippines second among 30 world economies in terms of optimism on the economy over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, the California Pension and Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest U.S. pension and retirement fund and investment advisor, has also raised the rating of the country, making it a more desirable investment destination than China, India, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Arroyo added that the country is now ready to "move up the value chain" and go beyond business process outsourcing to move to higher value e-services and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO). 'We started out with call centers, now we are moving to higher kinds of value-added services,' she said. Acknowledging that moving up the value chain and going into KPO poses greater demand for a more skilled and specialized talent pool, Arroyo said the government is committed to honing the skills of the Filipino workforce.
'We continue to sharpen our workforce by enhancing the English curriculum. English is back as the medium of instruction in the country, Arroyo said, also citing government initiatives to train near-hires, bridge courses and skills, and improve the curriculum for medical editors. She said the outsourcing industry now employs roughly 250,000 employees, having grown considerably from employing just around 2,000 six years ago. 'We want BPO, we want e-services because they bring so many jobs not only in Manila but all throughout the country -- therefore so many benefits,' she said, adding that there will be more jobs for Filipinos as BPO players go into more high-end projects and utilize not just college graduates but professional editors, accountants, doctors, engineers, and lawyers, among others.
'We have a highly-skilled and multicultural workforce who has an understanding of the business,' Arroyo said. Arroyo is optimistic that this will continue to keep the country at an advantage to advance as an even bigger player in the outsourcing business.