Due to the precariousness of the English language, in recent years’ companies in the Contact Center & BPO sector have decided to close thousands of jobs in the region and relocate their investments to other markets where they have no difficulty in recruiting qualified personnel.
Reports at a global level show that the command of English is one of the weaknesses at a Central American level.
Faced with the threat of the spread of covid-19 in Guatemala, companies in the contact center sector agreed that in the next 48 hours 70% of their operations will be moved to work at home.
For the 30% of employees who will remain providing services, all health regulations dictated by the Public Health Ministry for the state of calamity will be strictly applied, reported Agexport.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala tenders the call attention service, for the period from June 1 to December 31, 2019.
Guatemala Government Purchase 9599711:
"The service offered must guarantee telephone attention to all consultations related to the procedures of the services provided by the Consulates of Guatemala in the United States of America, based on the information provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the last year, Contact Center and BPO service sector exports were estimated at $600 million, 12% less than the $720 million reported the previous year.
Some of the factors influencing the failure to reach the job creation projection include the fact that no English language skills have been generated in young people, and at the time of the forecasts the exchange rate in the country was Q8.2 to one dollar, and now the rate has dropped to Q7.7.
After declaring the first tender process void, the Panamanian government is calling for a new tender for maintenance of the SUME 911 technology platform.
After declaring void, onJanuary 17 of this year, thetenderfor the "renewal and maintenance service of the technological platform for the unique 9-1-1 emergency management system for a period of 60 months" a new call has been made with the following details:
EGS Guatemala has announced the expansion of operations in customer services, billing and back offices for telecommunications and energy.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance in Guatemala:
Guatemala, March 15, 2016. The Minister of Economy, Ruben Morales, participated in the inauguration of EGS's third site in Guatemala, Primma 2. This company belongs to the call center and BPO sector, one of the two sectors covered by Decree Law 19-2016.
The legislature has finally passed the Employment Act granting exemptions for 10 years for call centers and maquilas operating in the country.
From a statement issued by the Congress of Guatemala:
With 113 votes in favor, members of the National Emergency Congress approved Decree 19-2016, Emerging Act for the Conservation of Employment, which exempts import tax for 10 years for call centers and maquilas operating in the country .
Reforms have been made to a proposed Emerging Act for Conservation of Employment in order to maintain tax incentives only for textile sectors and call centers, leaving out other activities that were previously exempt.
Deputy Ovidio Monzon, president of the Congress Working Committee confirmed that the aim is to maintain the privileges and exemptions for textile companies and call centers.
During 2014 the industry for business process outsourcing generated sales of $397 million, an increase of 15% compared to 2013.
From a statement issued by the Guatemalan Exporters Association (-AGEXPORT-):
Entrepreneurs in the IT & BPO sector at AGEXPORT, made up of enterprises working in Software Development, Development and Digital Content, Contact Centers and BPO's, announced that at the close of 2014 there was growth of 15%, positioning Guatemala as emerging market in the industry of outsourcing services.
Between 2009 and 2013 the revenues generated by the sector which outsources business services increased from $225 million to $650 million at the end of 2013.
For the development of this industry to continue "... Invest in Guatemala together with other institutions has designed a strategy with a vision for 2020 ", with the aim of achieving, over a period of five years, the generation of $2.3 billion in services and thus contribute 3.57% to the gross domestic product (GDP).
The subsidiary of the multinational company Atento has opened its third call center occupying three floors of the World Technology Center in the capital.
The company, considered one of the best places to work, with this new center has created twelve hundred additional work spaces on top of the two thousand operating so far in Guatemala.
Aejandro Reynal, president of Atento, told Prensalibre.com that "...
The company has announced it will reduce the number of its customer service centers from 11-3 , and in Guatemala it has hired BPO services from Xerox.
The firm Xerox will be responsible for business process outsourcing (BPO) services for Guatemala where it is projected that 215 jobs will be created.
According to Federico Medinilla, manager of Xerox, "the cruise operator has been divided into three units: Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. The call center in Guatemala will handle the customer service aspect for the three companies. "
Located in the Plaza Zona 4 Shopping Center, the new call center consists of training rooms, a medical station, psychologist's room, and coffee room.
"Our expansion is the result of the good service and commitment we provide to our customers. Our plan is to grow and remain an important source of work for Guatemalans" explained Manuel Gordo, CEO of the company.
Thriving companies from the banking mining, sugar, rubber, call center, and palm oil sectors, have been the engines of the Guatemalan economy over the last 10 years.
An article in Elperiodico.com.gt reviews the characteristics of each of these sectors and the major players in each.
"At the beginning of this century, Guatemala had 34 banks that managed assets of about $5 billion.