Companies in the sector are predicting the creation of about 42,000 jobs for bilingual staff over the next 3 years in order to meet the needs of the industry.
The projections by executives from the companies 24 / 7 Customer, the Commission for Contact Centers and BPO’s from the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (Agexport), also include the creation of some 15,000 positions for workers who provide services in Spanish.
There is an estimated 30% increase in the sector´s outlook for next year.
The Commission on Contact Center & BPO, of the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (Agexport) noted that recruitment targets are subject to better English language training.
Ninoshka Linde, marketing director for 24 / 7 Customer, stated to Elperiodico.com.gt: "Next [year] we expect to continue growing, but that depends heavily on the bilingual talent available.
The Indian company will hire 600 additional English-speaking customer representatives.
Ninoshka Linde, head of Marketing and Recruitment, remarked that they are visiting high schools to explain the benefits of joining the company.
She told Sigloxxi.com that “our industry has good growth opportunities in Guatemala, and remember that the only element limiting our growth potential is the lack of qualified bilingual personnel”.
24/7 Customer, the global leader in predictive interaction solutions, announced the launch of its contact center in Managua, Nicaragua.
The company set up its tenth center world-wide, to deliver voice based inbound customer support service. Located in Accedo Technology Park, it currently employs nearly 150 people with plans to ramp up to 1000 people in the next 12-18 months.
24/7 Customer inaugurated its second call center, which will employ 1.000 people in 2010.
The company has an aggressive expansion plan for the country, which will only be restricted by the availability of bilingual personnel.
V Bharathwaj, company manager, told Prensalibre.com: "... for each direct job, the company could create 4 additional ones in related activities like transportation, maintenance or security, among others".
24/7 Customer will double its operations during this year, adding 500 people to their current workforce of 900.
As the first phase of their hiring process, the call center will stage a "24 Hour recruiting day" on July 24, where it aims to hire as much people as possible in 24 hours.
"We will be requiring students, women and mothers with job experience in banking, hospitality and other services", published Prensalibre.com, "opportunities also exists for third age citizens and foreigners with good level of English language".
Renée F. Kuwahara, global operations director of the 24/7 Costumer call center, expressed that this industry is showing an annual growth of 40% in Guatemala.
In how many countries around the world do you have call centers?
Our head office is in California. We have centers of operation in the Philippines, India, China, and Guatemala. In addition, our clients and contacts are also in the rest of the U.S.A.
The expansion of Digitex, 24/7 Customer, Transactel, Staffers, Red Ventures, and Genpact is triggering an increase in the demand for bilingual workers and at the same time is causing salaries in the sector to rise.
More personnel with a good level of English are needed.
Mario Marroquin, Director of Invest (an agency in Guatemala), points out that it is necessary to transform the national education curriculum to include English courses.
24/7 Customer, a company from India, has decided to establish a call center near La Aurora Airport, in an area called Ciudad Aeropuerto (Airport City).
The 500 new jobs it generates will be in addition to those created by the Mexican company RY6 Global, which recently started operations in Airport City with a call center of 100 employees and space for 500 more in the coming years.
español
7974
