Is call center industry is a sunshine industry?

The call center industry is tagged as the "sunshine industry" by the government because of its massive expansion, thus generating thousands of employment. It is the fastest growing sector within the IT software and services industry. It is not only sprouting in Metro Manila, but in other metropolitan areas as well like Cebu, Baguio Davao and Pampanga. With an unemployment rate at 13 percent, the highest in Southeast Asia, the call center industry is perceived as a rare bright spot in the country sailing economy.


Thus, the Arroyo government is putting high hopes in the ICT-enabled services sector for the development of the economy. To realize its goal of placing the Philippines in the call center map of the world, the government has designated more than 96 special economic zones that offer tax breaks and other incentives to foreign investors and is improving the telecommunications and other basic infrastructure.


The available skilled labor force however could not catch up with the demand of the industry. Out of the 380,000 graduates produced annually, a mere five percent qualifies as call center agents. In fact, only three to five percent of applicants are taken in by the call center industry.


What is very alarming is the government mainstreaming the education system to churn out graduates that would fit the qualifications needed by the industry. In this regard, the Technical Education and Skills Authority (TESDA) of the Department of Labor and Employment has released a scholarship fund for would-be contact center professionals. Malacanang mandated English as the primary medium of instruction in both primary and secondary levels, aside from placing more emphasis on Math and Science as preventive measures. On the tertiary level, a number of schools all over the country, like UE in Recto, are now offering the subject Advanced Communication for International Business.


As remedial measures, formal training and certification programs for call centers have already started in training centers like AHEAD Learning Systems and the Avaya Customer Contact Training Center (ACCTC) located at the Mapua Institute of Technology. Call centers like People Support (Phils) Inc. has already started conducting special classes in the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) on basic contact center education for graduating students.


University of the Philippines student leader Atom Araullo, himself a graduating student, says that this move on the part of the government is reflective of the dominance of other countries in the economic affairs of the country. This tendency is nothing new since based from history, the government has been mainstreaming the education system of the country based on the demands of the global market for semi-skilled workers.


Not so Bright after All


After a deeper analysis, the exponential growth of the call center does not paint a very bright picture after all. Although the quality of the Filipino labor force lures in investors, the undoubtedly more decisive factor would be the cheaper labor cost. While the salary rate is comparatively higher from the minimum wage popularly offered nowadays, the practice of developed countries to exploit the cheap labor pool of underdeveloped countries would eventually lead to lower wages, especially so since 60 percent of the operational cost of a contact center in the country goes to labor, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).


Research also shows concerns on the health costs for those working the graveyard shifts. According to Rebecca Stoll, an analyst for US research group Gartner, after touring call centers in the country, as you can just work at night so long before you burn out. This suggests that prolonged call center employment may pose several health risks for the agents.


Most workers are denied to right to unionize. There is lack of job security and the labor force is not trained for skills that would benefit the country. At the other end of the line, agents are often subjected to racial discrimination, harassment and verbal abuse, and yet obliged to remain unruffled and calm. Weng adds, 'Stressful, especially during the early part. But then I have to learn to detach myself. I sometimes feel like a robot, I'm not learning anything.


Bubble Industry


Analysts predict that aside from facing stiff competition from other countries, the market would soon be saturated and the industry will burst. This is the reason why mainstreaming the education system just to cater to the demands of the call center industry would be a big blow to the economy.


According to Melvir Buela, an undergraduate engineering student from UP Diliman, the education system should be attuned to what the country really needs. He added that for undergraduates looking for jobs to save money for the rising tuition rates, call centers are the best option since the shift and the high pay are beneficial. However, he does not approve of the brain drain to the semi-skilled call centers.


Araullo says that graduates flocking to call centers imply that many are finding it harder and harder to find decent jobs. So instead of putting all the resources into sustaining the growth of call centers in the country, the government should instead exhaust all means in localizing industries in order to generate sustainable employment for the 31 million unemployed Filipinos.


Araullo adds that students should always view call centers as an option until basic reforms are put into place. "Students should not be ashamed. It's a decent job. But then they have to think, be curious and be open to the potential that they themselves would be the key to in initiating positive changes in the future."Bulatlat