Bacolod mayor reveals need for more call center workers

Monday, July 30 2007 @ 12:30 PM BST

Call centers Teletech and Teleperformance in Bacolod City are recruiting more employees and agents, and are starting to tap areas outside the city.

Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said with Convergys, which will start operating a branch here next month, more employment opportunities will be available for Bacoleños and Negrenses.

Leonardia, who spoke before officers and members of the Negros Occidental Teachers' Federation, Inc. (NOTFI) during their 61st Annual Representative Assembly at the Teachers' Center here Friday, said "we need people from outside of Bacolod to fill in the slots for the rising demand of employment opportunities for call centers."

"This is the development I would like to share with the rest of Negros Occidental. When we started in 2004, we were not in the information technology (IT) map of the country.

"When we created the IT Focus Team (ITFT) in 2005 and we aggressively campaigned to position Bacolod as the IT Capital of Western Visayas. Not only had the call centers come in," Leonardia said.

At present, the mayor said there are more than 2,500 new employment opportunities that have created in Bacolod as far as call centers are concerned in just a litte more than a year after the entry of Teletech and Teleperformance alone.

Teletech is located in Robinson's Metro in front of the Bacolod City airport, while Teleperformance is at Luxur Hotel (formerly Bacolod Conventional Plaza Hotel) in front of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO).

Convergys, the biggest call center in the country, is opening its branch and operations here next month, he said.

The mayor urged teachers to "be more focused in English," adding that "we could give the necessary training for our children starting from their elementary and secondary years." (PNA)