BOI to reimburse IT-BPO, shipping for skills training

CEBU, Philippines - Companies in the Information Technology-Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) and shipping industries are bound to get a hundred percent reimbursement via tax holiday from the Board of Investments (BOI) for their personnel skills upgrading training programs.

This particular incentive package is part of the new Investment Priority Program (IPP) approved by President Rodrigo Duterte last February 2017.

In its Cebu-leg, the 2017 IPP roadshow dubbed "Scaling Up and Dispensing Opportunities," BOI officer-in-charge and director for investment policy and planning service, Fe L. Del Rosario, said that skills upgrading for workers in the outsourcing and shipping is a critical need and should be well supported to sustain competitiveness.

This means that companies engaged in shipping business, outsourcing or IT, and are not entitled to Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) incentives, can apply for this particular perk from the BOI.

This is also part of government's bid to encourage companies to give world-class skills training to its employees, considering that the Philippines is banking on its human resource edge.

Thereby, sharpening the talents of Filipinos in the outsourcing and shipping fields, attracting more of these investments in the future.

Income Tax Holiday (ITH) will be equivalent to the total cost of the training expense of the company for training or skills upgrading programs.

"This is to beef up or to modernize our skills on the ground, and making sure that people are keeping pace of the world standard," Del Rosario said during the IPP roadshow held yesterday at Parklane International-Cebu.

Cebu for instance has a growing number of IT and BPO companies that are operating outside of PEZA registered zones. Likewise, the province is the headquarter site of inter-island shipping companies serving mostly the Visayas and Mindanao ports.

Del Rosario mentioned that in the shipping sector for instance, modernization of skills should be constantly checked, citing that some of the sea-based accidents are blamed on the crew’s lack of skills and capacity.

The coverage of the new IPP has been broadened to encourage and attract new capital in sectors and regions that address the inequality of growth and employment.

New priority activities for the IPP 2017 are innovation drivers, and inclusive business models.

The 2017 IPP is a three-year rolling plan to ensure continuity, consistency and predictability. It is subject to annual review for effective implementation. (FREEMAN)