THE City Government of Bogo is beefing up its capabilities in a bid to position itself as an alternative outsourcing destination.
Bogo City Administrator Antonieto Suico said the City is on its way to becoming a premier information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) destination, as it embarks on programs that gear towards making the city more digitally-ready.
Bogo City will host this year’s Visayas ICT Conference on Feb. 21. The one-day event will discuss issues, challenges and opportunities in the IT-BPM industry.
The day after, on Feb. 22, a one-day job fair will be held in the city’s sports complex, to be participated in by big BPM firms like Sykes, Concentrix, Teleperformance, Qualfon and Fusion BPO Services Philippines.
Suico said the conference, which is a first for Bogo City, is an opportunity to showcase its readiness to become the next alternative destination for startups, BPM and other IT-related businesses.
Roger Toñacao, IT Department head of the City of Bogo and the president of Bogo City ICT Council, said Bogo is already blanketed in fiber optic infrastructure, which makes government services like business permit licensing efficient and transparent.
Bogo City was the pilot area of the government’s rural impact outsourcing project initiated by the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
The 21-day training yielded 21 graduates, four of whom were able to land freelance jobs for local and foreign clients and earning an average of P25,000 per month.
Other graduates landed other types of jobs, but the training, according to Toñacao, has improved their IT capabilities and other soft skills.
Suico said the conference will also be an avenue for the local government to invite business owners and capitalists to venture into the booming IT industry. Currently, most entrepreneurs in Bogo City are still into traditional businesses.
Suico said they saw about 20 percent growth in new businesses in Bogo City in the past two years. One of the big-ticket investments is the expansion of fast-food chain Jollibee, as well as the proliferation of hotels and pension houses.
Bogo is a commercial hub in the north. People going to San Remigio, Medellin, Daanbantayan and Bantayan Island pass through Bogo City.
In terms of talent availability, Suico said Bogo City is home to four colleges. Cebu Normal University also has a campus there.
The City has earmarked a budget of P120,000 this year to provide free IT skills training monthly, in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry.
“The upcoming conference will be an acid test for us on how equipped and ready we really are in the fourth district,” said Toñacao.
But while they put emphasis on making Bogo City a premiere IT-BPM destination in the countryside, Suico emphasized they will not abandon farming and fishing, which are the city’s sources of livelihood.
He said they are looking at integrating technology into these industries to make these profitable and attractive to the younger generation.
Suico said these industries will never be left behind because as soon as the IT-BPM industry takes off in the countryside, this would translate to more demand for basic products and services.
The IT-BPM industry in Cebu ended 2018 with 160,000 direct employees, according to Wilfredo “Jun” Sa-a Jr., managing director of Cebu IT-BPM.Organization (Cib.O).
Sa-a said bringing technology opportunities to the countryside is one way of leveling the playing field in the community, both in job generation and in trade opportunities.