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A leading group of information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) firms anticipates that the industry’s revenues will rise to $40 billion this year, driven by a strong demand for the service sector despite recent economic upheavals.
IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jack Madrid said the industry will reach the revenue level by the end of 2025, five percent higher than the $38 billion it generated last year.
At the same time, he said the industry is expected to pass the two-million mark, in terms of employment, “within 12 to 18 months”.
Madrid said the population milestone is their “baseline target,” but he said reaching the “aggressive target” is his ultimate goal for the industry.
“I want us as a country to hit our aggressive target. It's part of our commitment to performance excellence. Go for the aggressive targets,” he told reporters in a recent interview.
IBPAP comprises more than 1,000 IT-BPM firms.
Madrid said healthcare, banking, and financial services will be the key drivers of revenue growth this year.
About 70 percent of the industry’s client base is dominated by firms from the United States (US), whose government’s recent trade policies have caused severe market disruption worldwide.
In particular, US President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on all foreign-based goods—while still suspended—could trigger a period of uncertainty in global trade and economy.
Madrid said the IT-BPM is still safe from the potential impact of these tariffs, given that it mostly impacts the manufacturing sector.
“I remain optimistic about the growth prospects of the industry. Because every week, my team and I talk to investors who want to increase their operations in the Philippines or establish new operations in the Philippines,” he added.
Madrid stressed that what the IT-BPM industry should be concerned about are its workers “not being skilled enough”.
“We need to focus only on one thing. We need to upskill, reskill, crosskill our talent,” the official said.
“We have the demographics. We have 700,000 university graduates a year. We need them to be employable,” he continued.
Further, Madrid said the government should help strengthen the workforce’s skills amid the ever-evolving changes in the work environment, particularly with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI).
