DOT partners with BPO firm to find jobs for displaced tourism workers
MANILA, Philippines — With the continued halt on the tourism industry, the Department of Tourism has partnered with a US-based business process outsourcing (BPO) company to provide thousands of displaced tourism workers temporary jobs.
On Monday, DOT’s private partner Concentrix kicked off the virtual regional job fair titled “Mabuhay! Partnership: Overcoming Adversities Through New Opportunities.”
Concentrix, which operates in 40 countries worldwide and in 17 cities nationwide, said that they are planning to hire more than 10,000 people in the next two months.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the company offers services within ten industries, including the automotive, banking and financial services, consumer electronics, energy and public sector, healthcare service, insurance, media and communications, retail, e-commerce, technology, and travel, transportation, and tourism.
Amit Jagga, vice president of the BPO firm, said they are willing to hire even those without experience in the BPO industry.
“If there is a need, we will also put investments to train these individuals to get them ready for the BPO industry because they are coming from a different environment and they have to settle from a different environment. We will be happy to make those investments as well,” Jagga said.
He added that “the skillset of the people in the hospitality industry are very powerful for us because of their ability to interact with foreign nationals and their customer service orientation.”
“What we want to do right now is to create partnerships which are actually beneficial to the company to actually grow the business in the Philippines but in these trying times, to help our fellow Filipinos who need a little bit support right now, because of a lot of displacement that happened because of the pandemic situation,” the vice president of the firm said.
He cited that his firm’s business as well as the BPO business in general has been resilient during the pandemic because most of their employees are able to continue working from the safety of their homes.
Available job posts
Through the partnership, the DOT and Concentrix will be opening posts for customer service representatives, technical support representatives, frontline/ specialists, supervisors, trainers, managers, and others for the human resources and recruitment, finance, IT, and marketing sectors. These are all applicable for on-site and work from home setups in light of the "new normal."
Concentrix Senior Director Larah Sta. Maria said tourism workers can apply for short-term job posts that lasts for two to three months or for six months but they also offer long-term work.
“We have such a wide variety of needs that we would be able to fit individuals according to what is most suitable for them considering their personal circumstances and employment needs,” she said.
Interested applicants must be at least high school graduates, can comfortably converse in English, or could be knowledgeable of another foreign language, have good computer skills, have problem solving skills, and have a pleasant personality especially when dealing with multiple concerns.
They would undergo a series of online interviews and assessments but this may be completed in less than 24 hours.
The DOT said chosen applicants will be compensated while in training.
According to Rica Bueno, assistant secretary for Tourism Regulation, Coordination and Resource Generation of the department, as of August 2020, there are 9,697 affected DOT-accredited businesses.
These comprise accommodation establishments, travel and tour agencies, tourist transport and some secondary enterprises like restaurants which have a total of around 182,000 workers, only within the DOT network.
Puyat, on the other hand, said an estimated 4.8 million Filipinos employed in tourism-related industries have been affected by the pandemic.
'Timely blessing'
She welcomed the partnership with Concentrix as a “timely blessing for affected tourism workers.”
“Our tour guides and frontline service providers certainly have an edge, especially those who speak foreign languages, as they find work in the BPO industry while tourism operations are still limited. Part-time jobs are also available, and have work-from-home arrangements in light of the new normal,” the tourism chief added.
Hotel Sales and Marketing Association president Christine Ibaretta thanked the DOT for providing its stakeholders job opportunities.
She cited that during the community quarantine period, some of the hospitality workers have resorted to online selling in their HSMA e-store.
“We are very, very happy for this job fair open for them,” she said.
The virtual regional job fair that opened for the Mindanao cluster last Monday can be accessed through the Facebook pages of Concentrix or the DOT.
Meanwhile the remaining dates of the job fair are as follows:
Luzon cluster
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NCR and Region IV A – September 22 and 24; Tuesday and Thursday from 1 to 5 p.m.
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Central Luzon, CAR, Bicol Region – September 29; Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
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Last leg of initial events for Cagayan Valley, Ilocos region, MIMAROPA/Region IV-B - October 1, 1 to 5 p.m.
Visayas
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Central, Western Visayas – September 17 and 18; Thursday to Friday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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Eastern Visayas – October 1 – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern Visayas
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