This was revealed by the summit’s committee chairman, Darwin John Moises, in a media briefing in Cebu City on Thursday, May 4.
Despite the challenges, Moises said the industry, based on data from the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap), continues to grow in terms of headcount and revenue, contributing more to the country’s economy and employment.
He added that the growth of the IT-BPM industry in Cebu and the Visayas region will result in more job openings and opportunities for local talent.
“That’s our impact in our little way to contribute to keeping the country resilient and strong,” Moises said.
Workforce
Data from Ibpap shows that in 2022, the country had recorded 1.57 million full-time employees (FTEs) working in the IT-BPM industry, an increase compared to the 1.44 million FTEs in 2021, making it one of the largest private sector employers in the Philippines. Metro Manila accounts for 69 percent of the total industry headcount with 1.08 million FTEs, while the countryside contributed 31 percent or 486,000 FTEs.
Ibpap said the country’s IT-BPM industry presented an impressive performance in 2022, adding 121,000 jobs and generating US$32.5 billion in revenue.
For 2023, it forecasted an increase in the talent headcount to 1.7 million FTEs and revenue of $35.9 billion.
As for the summit, Moises said they have invited international and local experts in the fields of digital transformation, finance and technology or FinTech, global shared services, artificial intelligence, and other crucial and sought-after topics that require discussion.
“There will be a discussion about the future and transformation in the workplace, and there will also be a discussion on how to attract and retain talent, a conversation around technology, especially in artificial intelligence and also data security,” he said.
Ibpap in collaboration with the Department of Information and Communications Technology is pushing forward the development of the countryside through the IT-BPM industry inclusion of Next Wave Cities and Digital Cities by 2028.
This part of the 2028 Roadmap of the Philippine IT-BPM industry aims to reach 2.5 million FTEs and a revenue of $59 billion.
Leading the way
Cebu is seen to lead the way in the growth of IT-BPM in terms of headcount outside of Metro Manila, with the leverage in the huge pool of talent, IT infrastructure, and real estate development.
Moises said CIB.O is inviting all major industry players from the government, academe, support industries, and the locators across the Asia Pacific to join them in the summit at Cebu City Sports Club, Cebu Business Park, Cebu City.
“What is also unique about this transformation summit this time is the first part will be the Hackathon, and we also choose an afternoon to evening session for us to be inclusive of different shift schedules for the people working in the industry,” Moises said.
The “Cebu Interschool Hackathon” is scheduled to take place on May 25, 2023, at the Cebu Northwinds Hotel in Cebu City. Organized by CIB.O, the event aims to showcase the coding skills and software development of students from various institutions in Cebu.