Accenture PHL cites need to beef up BPO workers’ skills

There is a need to upscale the skills of business process outsourcing (BPO) workers, given the advent of artificial intelligence, Accenture Philippines said Tuesday.

“We need to scale up the upskilling—upskill at speed,” Accenture Philippines country manager Lito Tayag said during the Digital Development Forum 2018 at the Asian Development Bank headquarters in Pasig City.

BPO workers are facing threats from artificial intelligence, which could lessen employment opportunities—particularly when it comes to tasks that could now be done by software.

Tayag said, however, that AI could serve to complement—rather than compete with—the current workforce.

“AI is here and is ready to work alongside its human counterparts,” he said.

“Businesses are looking to capitalize on AI’s potential, but they must also acknowledge the increasing impact it has on human lives.”

The Information Technology and Business Process Association (IBPAP) said that even with AI, the sector is poised to register a 9-percent growth in terms of revenues.

“We can’t say we are eliminating jobs. The reality is we’re making the jobs richer and more interesting,” Accenture operations lead in the Philippines Benedict Hernandez earlier said.

Tayag said companies must adapt to new technology and integrate it to complement the workforce.

“With the rise of digital technologies and digital economy, there is a new obligation, but there is also a new opportunity for companies to engage with our people in a different way,” he said.

For its part, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said in April that it was working on allowing foreign professionals to train employees in the BPO sector with the shift towards artificial intelligence. —VDS, GMA News