Under the program, Accenture will tap small business process outsourcing (BPO) companies in provinces to provide training and employment to the residents.
Benedict Hernandez, lead Accenture Delivery Center for Operations in the Philippines, said the program aims to boost efforts in achieving inclusive growth in the country.
“Rural BPO is all about inclusive growth. It is focused on being able to bring the benefits of its fast growing service to communities like the first one we launched in Tanjay,” Hernandez told reporters in a press briefing on Tuesday.
Accenture has trained and employed 38 residents of Tanjay, Negros Oriental for its first Rural BPO center, which has been in operation for a year.
According to Manish Sharma, Accenture’s senior managing director, the Rural BPO program in Tanjay has increased the average annual household income by 33 percent, from P139,600 to P186,000.
Sharma also said that all employees have been able to open a savings account.
Employment opportunities that have opened up in Tanjay because of the program include jobs in data, tech support, analysts, and voice support.
Hernandez said Accenture is looking to open more BPO centers in rural areas, but the firm has yet to identify specific locations.
He said the program needs requirements such as support from local government, connectivity, competitive talent pool, and a competent local partner.
For its Rural BPO center in Tanjay, Accenture partnered with the Visayan Knowledge Process Outsourcing (VKPO).
Hernandez said Accenture is targeting to fill up the center’s 150 seats.
He said bringing BPO centers to rural areas, which can only provide jobs in agriculture, fishing and education, will benefit not only the residents but the community as well.
He noted that most college graduates from rural areas leave their hometown to work in the city.
“What we have done is that we created those careers in provinces like Tanjay so they don’t have to leave their families,” said Hernandez.
The BPO center in Tanjay is Accenture’s fourth location and its first in the Philippines, with the three others located in India.
In the Philippines, Accenture has a workforce of more than 32,000 employees.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
