The local outsourcing sector has moved up in the value chain by going into new domains such as business analysis, financial accounting, and map-making, etc., far from its early days of doing simple repetitive voice calls. Today the local business process outsouring (BPO) industry has gone a notch higher with regard to the quality of work it is currently doing in the Philippines.

This was the assessment made by Richard Mills, chairman of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, during a recent press briefing to announce the forthcoming staging of the International ICT Awards to be held on March 25 at the Grand Ballroom of Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City.

“Before, it was very hard to get expats with managerial skills and decision-making functions. But with the Philippines becoming a major BPO that is now possible,” Mills said.

According to Everest Research Institute, the Philippines represented a healthy 15 percent of the offshore BPO market although its size is barely one-tenth of India. Mills said that although India has far more BPO workers than the Philippines, but on a per capita basis, Filipino workers earn three times as much as their Indian counterparts.

The Canadian executive also cited as an example how Star Cruises, the luxury ship operator, was able to turn in a profit after outsourcing its booking and other services to its BPO center located in the New Port City in Pasay.

The Philippines has emerged as one of the world’s fastest growing destination for BPO as it’s engaged in offshore outsourcing for global companies. This success has made the country, a dominant player in the booming ICT industry within the Asia Pacific region. Recently, the Philippines received the Best Offshoring Destination of the Year Award for 2009 for its BPO sector bestowed by the United Kingdom’s National Outsourcing Association.