Among all the cities in the world, Manila was cited as the best city for outsourcing by the Global Offshoring Index 2004 of a property consultancy company. Jones Lang Lasalle asserted that this is due to the country's well-educated, English-speaking and IT-skilled workforce. Following Manila are cities from Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. As a small third-world country, many business professionals become sceptic on how Philippines has attained this position. Yet, its numerous assets speaks for itself.
Once constrained to agriculture and overseas domestic labor, the Philippines has become a favorite destinations for multinational companies in offshore outsourcing. Aside from the high level of literacy and English language proficiency, the country also boasts of an intellectual, c ustomer-service-oriented labor pool and low-cost labor. Specializing in call centers, business process outsourcing, application development and animation, the Philippines takes pride in its cultural compatibility with the United States.
Being a former colony of Spain and the United States, Philippines has turned out as a culturally open society, an advantage over its rivals in the outsourcing market. The democracy it possesses makes it possible for the people's openness to influences from different cultures. Hence, it produces a workforce capable of adapting easily to foreign customs. Since most Filipinos are bilingual, Philippines is conspicuously at the paramount of telecommunications offshoring market.
On the other hand, the critics' aspersion on the potential of Philippines in outsourcing includes migration of workers to different countries and the country's low awareness as an offshore top market. However, since the country produces a huge amount of graduates every year, migration of a small percentage of its labor force is not a big deal. In fact, the country has more students in their tertiary education than most of the nations in Europe.
Producing 15 000 graduates from technical universities, the country has a high literacy rate of above 94%, with English as the principal medium of instruction. 99% of the college graduates have a competent adeptness in English language. This is primarily the reason why Philippines overtakes many countries in fields like customer support operations.
In its intent for economic growth, the Philippines has opened its market for foreign investments, specially in offshore outsourcing. The government encourages multinational companies to develop the emerging industry in the business trend today. In fact, it offers attractive incentives to foreign investors. Local business industries cooperate with the government in developing the country's infrastructure. For the past few years, the country's economy has relied in foreign investments as a huge contributing factor for its economic growth.
As more and more outsourcers decide to select Philippines, the country is expected by many business analysts to take the prime global leadership in outsourcing. With its skilled, skilled workforce and convenient environment, the Philippines represents a paradise for outsourcers around the globe. Thus, what Philippines has to offer should not be a question of doubt and debate, but an inquest full of anticipations of more benefits the country has to exhibit.
