Local cynicism hurting the BPO sector - Epstein

WESTERN BUREAU:

Yoni Epstein, the immediate past president of the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ), believes that stakeholders in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector must do more to combat local cynicism about the industry's benefits.

Epstein, who is the chief executive officer of the Itelbpo Solutions agency in Montego Bay, spoke about the local cynicism at the inaugural staging of the Jamaica Promotions Corporation's (JAMPRO) BPO Career Fair at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Rose Hall, St James, yesterday.

"I think that we need to do a better job at marketing this industry locally. We've done a tremendous job of marketing it internationally, because if you go to destinations globally for BPO, people will say, 'Yes, we know Jamaica is a competitor,'" said Epstein.

"But, we need to do a better job about marketing locally to sensitise Jamaicans as to what this industry is really all about."

Said Epstein: "The cynicism about BPO locally is a bigger issue because it affects people who want to get a job in the industry. Anything that does well in Jamaica, everybody wants to talk bad about it, and it is a poor part of our culture."

He added: "If we united as a country, as all types of industries in the private and public sectors that drive policies, we'd have a much stronger country."

Epstein also noted that the BPO sector's success lies in its employee numbers, which have risen from 12,000 in 2012 to approximately 30,000 at present.

"In 2012, we had over 12,000 people in the BPO industry, and today we have close to 30,000, so in six years it has grown tremendously," said Epstein.

"Part of that growth is the human capital, and what will continue to stem that growth of the sector is the growth of that human capital."