NITDA projects 10,000 jobs in 2016 through BPO

WITH Nigeria’s position as the largest economy in Africa, the Director-General (DG), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Peter Jack, is optimistic that Business Process Outsourcing will create over 10,000 jobs in 2016.

The DG, who spoke at the accreditation of a BPO academy in Lagos, at the weekend, said with the recent study of World Bank, Online outsourcing has a potential of over 32 million jobs globally and Nigeria, which is a major player, is a destination.

With our partnership with ISON, an Indian company who recently won the contract of capacity outsourcing particularly in the call centre business to support the entire African operation of MTN, we are growing jobs of over 3,000 by the end of December and 10,000 by the end of next year.

An industry cannot grow without the right skills to drive it, by accrediting the BPO academy; we hope to encourage more organisations to go into the business of outsourcing.

According to the past president of Institute of Software Practioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Chris Uwaje, BPO has made a significant statement to the nation, stressing that outsourcing has a lot of future in creating employment for youth in Nigeria.

Government itself cannot manage its ICT alone, they need to employ managers of outsourcing. We should establish and promote local industries that can bring foreign cash flow, he said.

In his speech, Managing Director of BPO academy, Obiora Madu, said the academy was born out of shared desire to strategically position the outsourcing industry in Nigeria as a major contributor to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), through the provision of skilled workforce to attract international BPO organizations to Nigeria.    “

Globally, there is huge potential in the outsourcing industry and Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind. BPO today creates and has the potential for creating maximum employment opportunities for the young across all nations.

As recession has hit jobs badly across most industries, only BPO and contact centre industry is actually creating new job opportunities while laying off least.

By 2050, 80 per cent of the workforce worldwide would be working in services, he stated.    He commended the efforts of NITDA for being proactive and forward looking, adding that the action of the agency is a sharp departure from the usual norm where private sector operators are left alone on issues that are of great importance to the nation.

However, having gone through the basic requirement of gaining track records and international certification, the accreditation is expected to last for a period of two years.