The eighth annual Contact Islands 2024 conference, organized by the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP), has set a new focus this year on enhancing growth and development in provincial areas.
The ‘Digital Cities’ initiative aims to foster growth in provincial areas to balance the industry’s concentration in metropolitan zones like Manila and Cebu.
This initiative seeks to tap into new talent pools and decentralize the economic benefits more broadly across the country. At least 33 new locations have already been identified as potential digital cities, with 23 of them already having their own roadmap.
“We are particularly excited about the involvement of LGUs this year, as it aligns with our goal to push for growth in the provincial areas,” said CCAP chairman Mitch Locsin in a press conference.
More than 650 are attending the Contact Islands 2024 conference, which kicks off today and runs until July 26 at the Nustar Hotel in Cebu City.
The attendees include industry key players, national and local government officials, academe, and stakeholders that seek to align plans, policies, and strategies to address key CX issues locally and globally.
An industry report by CCAP and keynote speech by Sec Frederick Go are among the highlights of the conference’s first day. Day 2 is set for simultaneous breakout and workshop sessions for HR, small and medium-sized BPOs, marketing operations, business continuity planning, and security.
The conference’s day 3 will focus on best practices and strategies for privacy and data protection, sectoral marketing, and CX management.
The host city, Cebu, is already a mature BPO location and growth here will be mostly on the expansion side rather than new entrants, said CCAP board director Haidee Enriquez.
“There’s so much growth to be had (in Cebu),” she stressed, adding that as long as Cebu remains business-ready, maintains its infrastructure, and continues to produce talent, it will sustain its robust growth in the IT-BPM space.
An innovative part of the agenda is the introduction of the Philippine Skills Framework, which includes a new cybersecurity career track.
This framework is intended to assist colleges and universities in these burgeoning digital cities to align their curricula with the industry’s needs, thereby fostering a skilled workforce ready to meet the demands of a modern contact center environment.
The conference has also placed a strong emphasis on cybersecurity, reflecting global concerns about data protection and security threats.
“As digital transformation deepens, cybersecurity remains a top priority. Our goal is to integrate advanced cybersecurity measures to safeguard our operations and maintain trust within the industry,” Enriquez said.
The eighth Contact Islands conference takes place as the country’s BPO industry is expected to hit a total headcount of 2.5 million by 2028 from this year’s 1.8 million. The sector is also projected to account for about $49 billion of a target $59 billion IT industry revenue by 2028.
“The customer experience that our industry provides is the embodiment of our collective vision and concerted actions. Through the years, the Philippines being the primary provider of excellent contact center and outsourced business processes to the world, has served as the heart of CX,” CCAP chairman Locsin said.
Business News Asia