While it is more expensive to send employees abroad than bring their counterparts from overseas to mentor the Manila delivery center, the goal is to simply let Filipino employees see for themselves how their counterparts do the work they would be doing in the Philippines.

Both Jamila and Philipp said they were trained abroad by IBM employees who are twice their age.

Philipp, who previously worked in the call center industry, is a firm believer that the kind of work they do at IBM is a big step for the Philippines to move up the so-called value chain in the global outsourcing milieu.

Like IBM itself, he also believes there is a lot more room for growth for outsourcing in Europe, where he spent almost half of his life. 'European companies are changing their business strategies. The continent isn't really service-oriented,' he noted.