BPO to Yield 6,400 Additional Jobs
By: , March 13, 2015The Key Point:
Photo: Michael Shaw
Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, opens the 2015/16 budget debate in the House of Representatives on Thursday, March 12. His presentation was done under the theme: ‘Strong Foundations for Growth and the Expansion of Opportunities’.The Facts
- Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, made the announcement as he opened the 2015/16 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 12.
- Dr. Phillips noted that the “sky is the limit” in relation to the sector, which in recent months has seen the construction and lease of some 50,000 square feet of space in the Barnett Tech Park, while plans are being finalized for construction and leases are being negotiated for another 100,000 square feet.
The Full Story
Approximately 6,400 additional jobs are expected to be created in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry within the next fiscal year.
Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, made the announcement as he opened the 2015/16 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 12.
Dr. Phillips noted that the “sky is the limit” in relation to the sector, which in recent months has seen the construction and lease of some 50,000 square feet of space in the Barnett Tech Park, while plans are being finalized for construction and leases are being negotiated for another 100,000 square feet.
He further informed that a 70,000 square foot facility in Kingston (formerly the Claro building) is now also being used for BPO operations on the basis of a local investor purchasing the building. Also, in Mandeville a 70,000 sq. ft. BPO facility has been completed.
Dr. Phillips said the BPO industry is presently making a major contribution to employment generation and augmenting economic growth in the island, adding that “all things being equal,” the sector should increase employment from the current level of 15,000 to 30,000 by 2020.
As such, a National Five-Year Strategy for the expansion of the sector will be submitted to Cabinet shortly.
“A strategic objective is to move Jamaica up in the value chain in the BPO industry from simple call centres up to knowledge processing centres, outsourcing more professional services, such as legal and accounting support, software development and technical support service,” the Finance Minister said.
He further informed that to enhance the employment generating capacity and profitability of the investments in the BPO sector, the Growth Agenda Subcommittee of Cabinet will be giving oversight to JAMPRO, in the provision of financing support for infrastructure development and training as well as an aggressive marketing strategy.
As it relates to concerns raised over the nature of the tax regime to be applied to the sector at the end of the free zone regime, Dr. Phillips said he has asked the Incentive Working Group to hold consultations with the sector and the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, in order to ensure that the country attains an internationally competitive fiscal state in the sector.