The Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines said Wednesday it expects an annual growth of 10.4 percent that will bring total revenues to $59 billion by 2028.
The group said the higher revenues would result in additional 1.1 million direct employees in the next six years.
IBPAP president and chief executive Jack Madrid said the figures were based on the second industry roadmap that would track the growth trajectory of the industry from 2022 to 2028.
“In the next six years, what IBPAP aims, along with industry players, is for our sector is to create even meaningful impact as we envision our country to be the world’s number 1 experience hub for customer centric and digitally-enabled services while driving sustainable economic and social growth,” Madrid said in a briefing at the sidelines of second day of the International Innovation Summit.
The roadmap assumes that about 54 percent of the projected 1.1 million hires would come from the countryside. This would bring the sector’s total headcount to 2.5 million by 2028.
Highlighting the industry’s multiplier effect, IBPAP also forecasts up to 3 million in indirect jobs for allied sectors such as retail, hospitality, infrastructure, transportation, and real estate.
The roadmap, unveiled on the first day of the summit, underscored the industry’s potential to increase its contribution to the economy to 8.5 percent of the gross domestic product.
IBPAP, in its bid to realize Roadmap 2028’s vision, provided high-level recommendations for strategic priorities and acceleration levers that include policy and regulatory support; talent development; infrastructure development; and, marketing and brand positioning.
Madrid said the government was very responsive in supporting a business-friendly environment through clear and consistent policies in line with the expectations of global investors.
“These policies will help bring forth easier adoption of the new and emergent hybrid workplace models that we are now entering, [and] a uniformity in workplace incentives to strengthen the Philippines competitiveness and overall ease of doing business,” he said.
The group also noted the significance of sustaining a talented workforce in achieving the 1.1 million additional heads.
“It is imperative that private sector, the academe and government to ensure a sustainable pool of talents will be available. We need to revise our existing curriculum like early interventions and work immersions to create a core of employable Filipinos to join the ranks of IT-BPM FTEs [full-time employees],” Madrid said.
“If all our goals are achieved, we have the capability to take on increasingly high complex and high-skilled jobs,” Madrid said.
“The Philippine IT-BPM sector is at the cusp of a new and exciting era, and the future that awaits us is the brightest that it has ever been. This is a significant feat that will need everyone’s support as we take this big leap forward, propelling this powerhouse sector and cementing the Philippines as the top investment destination for IT-BPM services,” Madrid said.
