Thursday, October 05, 2006 UC, call center put up 2nd training center
CAPITALIZING on the burgeoning growth of the information, communication and technology (ICT) sector in the province, a local university opened its second call center training room to improve levels of competence in the English language.
“The call center industry needs people with excellent communication skills, so while the need is still there, we have to act on it immediately,” University of Cebu (UC) president Augusto Go said.
In partnership with the Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (Cedf-it), USAid Pact project and People Support, UC launched last Tuesday its new “Training Center for Communication Skills Enhancement and Call Center Agents” at the second floor of the UC-Banilad campus.
Go told Sun.Star Cebu that the training room is an exact replica of People Support’s Asiatown IT Park site and has state-of-the-art telecommunications equipment.
He said some P4 million was spent for the purchase of the equipment alone.
High-tech
The training room consists of 24 units of personal computers, Avaya phones, headsets, among others.
Cedf-it executive director Bonifacio Belen said that since the training center is “high-tech,” trainees may take live calls from foreign customers.
Go said a similar training room will soon open in its UC-Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue campus while the first training room in the UC-main campus will be upgraded.
People Support training manager Amale Jopson said the training room will serve as a venue for near-hire applicants, “who fall just below average” to further develop their communication skills.
“The ability to communicate well is something that needs to be enhanced, everything else is trainable”, Jopson said.
“A huge number of Filipinos speak flawless, perfect English only certain things need to be taught other than fluency of the language,” said former American Chamber of Commerce and Industry president and US Consul John Domingo.
First priority
Jopson reported that only two to three percent of People Support’s applicants are hired due to some inefficiency in speaking with the American English accent, however she is optimistic that with training centers, the hiring rate will increase to five percent.
She added that the company will be prioritized from among the pool of graduates of the UC call center training room.
However, they will give the trainees the discretion to apply in other call centers, Go said.
Belen also said once the teaching of fundamental skills will be embedded in the UC curriculum, it hopes to generate more than 1,000 “quality graduates” next year, who will be fit for the industry.
People Support will be providing trainers, who will be involved in the actual conduct of the training programs, and are given the permission to adopt their curriculum for UC’s public seminars.
He said two separate trainings will be conducted for UC professors and for outside applicants. These will begin on Oct. 23.
“The program for teachers is quite different, both in methodology and schedule, so we are still finalizing their training program but some of them will join on the 23rd as observers,” Belen said.
Jopson said applicants, who will also include non-UC personnel, will undergo “extensive” training within the next two months.
Two public seminars will be scheduled per month lasting nine days and from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. (MMM)
