K-to-12 and the contact center professional

The former chair of the Commission on Higher Education, Bro. Rolly Dizon FSC, once remarked that the majority of our high school graduates were unprepared for college. This observation—which resonated strongly among education stakeholders—helped put legislators in the proper frame of mind as they deliberated on the K-to-12 Law.

The law’s most attractive feature, aside from Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education, is senior high school where specialization tracks introduce the young learner to career options for higher education, middle-level skills development, entrepreneurship, and even direct employment after graduation. That’s a major breakthrough because before K-to-12, the high school graduate really did not have much choice except go to college.

As provided for by Republic Act No. 10533, one of the objectives of the K-to-12 Program is to produce Grade 12 graduates with real employment opportunities. But quite a few academics that I’ve talked to feel that the recent addition of seven contextualized subjects over and above the senior high school core curriculum leaves little room for incorporating skills-oriented courses that would make those who pursue the academic track become employable at age 18.

The contextualized subjects in the revised senior high school curriculum replaced industry-led courses aimed at developing specific service management competencies that the high school graduate will need to succeed in the IT and Business Process Management (IT BPM) industry. However, they also leave students little time for the 600 hours of internship in a real IT BPM company to solidly reinforce what they learned in class, and this will have implications on their employment prospects.

A recent study conducted by the Bureau of Local Employment cites the IT BPM industry as one of the Top 10 high-paying jobs in the Philippines.

At the same time, Section 6 of RA 10533 provides for the creation of a curriculum consultative committee chaired by the education secretary to oversee the review and evaluation of the implementation of the basic education curriculum, and possibly to recommend to the Department of Education the formulation of necessary refinements in the curriculum.

The committee members come from CHEd, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the Departments of Labor and Employment and of Science and Technology, and the Professional Regulatory Commission, and business chambers such as the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap).

The K-to-12 Program itself identifies Ibpap as a potential industry partner not just for internship but, more importantly, for employment.

Which brings me to my next point: There are real careers with excellent advancement prospects in the IT BPM industry, especially in the voice category, but the competencies needed now are at a much higher level.

Jojo Uligan, executive director of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines, explains that only 12 years ago, the skills demanded of call center agents were quite basic, centering mostly on just responding to simple questions like straightforward directory assistance or low-level tech support.

Today, the contact center sector of the IT BPM industry comprises the bulk of an ever-burgeoning demand. (In 2012, the IT BPM industry hired around 772,000 people, mostly in the contact centers. This figure is expected to jump to 1.3 million by 2016.)

Uligan points out that contact centers are driven by client demand and powered by advanced technology. That’s why the call center agents of a decade ago with their basic skills have given way to today’s contact center professionals—highly articulate people who can quickly and accurately assess both customer service and technical issues and respond with an optimal solution.

Mostly young men and women with college training, contact center professionals routinely use state-of-the-art IT systems to arrive at the solutions demanded by customers. A professional service culture informs their work ethic.

“When we started, all we needed was somebody to answer the phones and basically respond to simple queries like ‘I need to find out about my credit limit,’” says Ibpap president and CEO Jose Mari Mercado.

Today, Mercado points out, the contact center professional has to have good business communication and, more importantly, good comprehension and listening skills and critical thinking. “You will need to be able to analyze right away, usually within 60 seconds, what the customer’s real problem is, and how you can help him fix it so that he will be happy,” he says.

“Remember that today’s contact center professionals are rated and paid depending on how satisfied the customers are and whether they were able to resolve the issue,” adds Mercado, who draws from years of experience as business development head at Convergys, an IT BPM company. With over 45,000 employees, Convergys is the Philippines’ biggest employer next to the national government.

Uligan, meanwhile, says that graduates from senior high school or college should pay attention to new trends and technologies. “You need to be aware of what’s happening around you, and of the ways that people interact with one another. If you know that, then it will be easy to adjust. The job of a contact center professional requires a complex set of skills but it need not be difficult, and you’ll really get to apply what you learned in school. Just give it your best shot and learn as quickly as you can,” Uligan says.

Butch Hernandez ([email protected]) is the executive director of the Eggie Apostol Foundation and education lead for talent development at Ibpap.