Report proposes varsity graduates for jobs in BPOs
Reliance by call centres on highly-skilled labour has emerged as a hindrance to job-creation in a sector identified as a key to raising employment under Vision 2030.
Reliance by call centres on highly-skilled labour has emerged as a hindrance to job-creation in a sector identified as a key to raising employment under Vision 2030.
The Rockefeller Foundation is now recommending that Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms hire university graduates who provide cheaper labour helping the firms ride through downturns. The Job Creation through Building the Field of Impact Sourcing report said most countries focus on generating higher-value service jobs, such as those in contact centres, which need skilled and better-educated employees.
“Employing low-income workers will provide them with sustainable income, which can lead to positive social outcomes, ultimately helping to improve livelihoods and build relevant skills for employment in the fast growing ICT sector,” said James Nyoro, managing director, Rockefeller Foundation Africa.
In 2009, the Kenya ICT Board, which works to promote Kenya as an information technology and BPO destination, developed a strategy that will see the creation of more than 80,000 jobs in the next three years in the emerging sector.
Kenya first began moving into the BPO space with its Vision 2030 strategy, which identified BPO as one of the sectors to help Kenya achieve growth.
The report says that while the largest players in the field — namely KenCall and Horizon — have traditionally employed university-educated staff, Kenya has also seen an increase in the number of firms who source their talent from younger pools.
The report lauds firms like Nairobi-based Daproim and Techno Brain BPO who aim to hire university and high school graduates.
