Uganda: BPO – University Exams Should Be More Practical to Produce Quality Labour Force
Key players in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector have called for the skilling of students right from universities.
This, they said will help fresh graduates to tap on the available opportunities in the country which require a skilled labour force.
Experts believe that the country’s young, educated workforce positions the country to become a top BPO destination.
The remarks were made during SpotlightUG discussion that focused on unleashing the power of Business Process Outsourcing(BPO) in Uganda. The discussion took place on NBS Television on Monday night.
BPO refers to the practice of outsourcing specific business functions to third-party service providers. These functions can include customer service, technical support, data entry among others.
BPO has become a crucial component of many businesses, allowing them to focus on their core competencies while outsourcing non-core tasks to specialised service providers.
For more than 15 years Uganda has had Business Process outsourcing which allows Ugandans access to foreign jobs using online-based technologies.
A new policy which is in the offing is expected to help further expand sector opportunities.
The Co-founder and Director, E-Wall Technologies Company Limited, Martin Mukama said that the country should start skilling students from universities, a move which he thinks would greatly help the young people in acquiring the necessary skills needed at work place.
“Exams should be more practical. So that when they graduate, they move with the skill because it’s the skill that’s going to sell them,” he said.
Mukama said that training is an important component in order to inculcate some of the cultures which include time management into the work that one does.
“We are doing a lot of work in tech, especially in the health sector. If you are outsourcing services, it saves you a lot of money,” he said.
Mukama said that they need to be certified to offer services globally.
“We need BPO services of BPO to position us where those who want our services can actually get them,” he said.
Richard Okuti, BPO and Innovation Council Member said there is increasing outsourced services that are enabled because of the use of technology for example the call centers. This, he said, is a technology-enabled BPO.
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“Outsourcing in general cuts across different sectors. As technology grew, a lot of BPOs were enabled. Technology was used and continues to be used as a Medium to outsource services to third parties,” he said.
The Ministry has recently Drafted National Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Policy for public review and feedback. This policy aims to provide a roadmap for the growth and development of the BPO industry in the country, creating job opportunities and driving economic growth.
BPO is an emerging form of employment in Europe and America resulting from the expensive labour charges per hour, pushing businesses to contract professionals from offshore countries to carry out activities on their behalf at cheaper costs.
Most of those activities do not form the core businesses of the company’s operations but they are necessary for daily operations. They include research, back office operations, human resources, back office, customer service and managing call centres.
BPO has become more common in recent years because outsourcing allows businesses to focus on what they do best while letting others handle the details. This frees employees to work on higher-value tasks, such as developing new products or improving existing ones.
