Finance Ministry: Job fairs, communication campaigns to aid BPO restructuring  

With the continued growth and expansion of Guyana’s economy, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) organisations have recognised the need to restructure the service provision of their entities to attract and maintain local talent.

Companies operating within the sector have been scaling back services, with one of the largest organisations, Teleperformance, earlier this week finalising the closure of its operations, placing several hundred people on the breadline.

In an emergency meeting with Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service Dr. Ashni Singh on Thursday, the companies contended that the operational downturn is due to attracting and retaining talent, particularly given the rapid emergence of jobs in other sectors of Guyana.

A statement from the minister’s office said that recognition was given to the tremendous opportunities for expansion, with the potential for new clients being attracted to Guyana and additional job opportunities being created, especially those popular with the female workforce, and those that provide an entry point into the world of work in a technology-based environment.

It was noted that the companies expressed their strong desire to partner with the government to expand their footprint in the country, attract additional clients, and create more jobs.

“In this regard, Minister Singh discussed initiatives to support the sector, including the launch of a series of job fairs and public communication campaigns to raise greater awareness of the sector, given the number of jobs that are potentially available in several locations across the country,” the statement said.

It further indicated the government’s recognition of the constant changes in the information communications technology sector, and the need to evolve the model of call centres from an entry-level one providing telemarketing services to a contact centre model offering more value-added jobs.

Minister Singh reaffirmed the government’s commitment to continue working closely with the BPO sector to support its development and expansion, and reiterated that Guyana remains an attractive destination for BPO business.

Chief Investment Officer of the Guyana Office for Investment, Dr. Peter Ramsaroop, was also at the meeting.

He had told Ignite News that suggestions would be made for the companies to engage in more transactional processing, such as data entry and other IT-related services, as a means of diversifying and restructuring their operations here.