IT-BPM sector grows 10.3% in revenues, 8.4% in full-time staff in 2022 —IBPAP

The information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) sector saw growth in both its number of workers and its bottom line in 2022, the industry’s umbrella organization said Tuesday.

In a statement, the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) said the sector recorded a growth of 8.4% or by 121,000 last year in terms of full-time employees (FTEs), bringing the IT-BPM industry’s total headcount to 1.57 million.

The sector also saw a 10.3% increase in revenues to $32.5 billion in 2022.

IBPAP said that the increase in both headcount and revenues may be attributed to growth in banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), healthcare, retail, technology, and telecommunications.

IBPAP president and CEO Jack Madrid said the sector is working on its Roadmap 2028, in which the industry targets to generate some 1.1 million jobs and nearly double its annual revenues by 2028. 

“That’s the only way that we can hope to achieve our goal of building the industry to a 2.5 million-strong workforce and generating $59 billion in revenues for the country,” said Madrid.

“We still have a long way to go, but Philippine IT-BPM’s stellar performance in 2022 brings us closer to generating 1.1 million new jobs for Filipinos. It’s also a testament to the collective efforts that the private sector, government, and academe have exerted to retain the industry as an indispensable pillar of the economy,” added Madrid.

For 2023, IBPAP said the IT-BPM industry can hit 1,7 million FTEs and $35.9 billion in revenues.

Despite expectations of growth, group cited challenges the industry is facing such as talent and skills gap; cost pressures; more work going to competing locations such as India, Poland and South America; adapting to evolving customer needs and business models like hybrid and remote work; and inadequate supply of enabling infrastructure, particularly in the countryside.

IBPAP said stakeholders in the industry, government, and academe must remain committed to policy and regulatory support, talent development, infrastructure expansion, marketing, and brand repositioning. — BM, GMA Integrated News