The IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) said its success in Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) will be “critical” in generating 1.1 million new jobs by 2028.
In a statement released on Friday, IBPAP President Jack Madrid underscored the impact of GenAI on human jobs. He also noted that this has been a “hot topic” in the media, as well as discussions among industry, government, and academe leaders.
In fact, Madrid said, “Companies have long been doing proof-of-concept experiments to determine how they can leverage it in their business operations to improve employee productivity, enhance customer experience, reduce costs, and increase top-line growth.”
The IBPAP chief cited as an example the use of chatbots to handle simple customer inquiries.
While it’s clear that the potential benefits of GenAI are “immense,” Madrid noted that at this phase of its evolution, there are still some “limitations” associated with its use.
He said these include the lack of context-specific data; tendency for bias and other ethical concerns; shortage of AI-versed talent; and risk to data privacy and security.
As the flagship organization of the IT and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry, Madrid said IBPAP and its stakeholders recognized early on that GenAI will “inevitably” change the way business services are performed and delivered, bringing a “significant shift” in the dynamics between jobs, skills, and talent.
“We have since considered this both a daunting challenge and an exciting opportunity to dramatically strengthen the efficiency of global services delivery to customers by our current and future workforce,” Madrid said in a statement on Friday.
The IBPAP chief said the organization has been working with both the public and private sectors for several years now on “comprehensive” talent programs and career roadmaps with skill rating systems given the “urgent need” to continuously upskill existing talent and university students, and instill in them the importance of life-long learning.
In line with this, Madrid divulged that IBPAP recently established an AI Council that will partner and collaborate with learning academies and organizations like the Analytics Association of the Philippines (AAP).
According to the IBPAP head, specific areas of focus will include programming, data science, and data analytics, including data and AI ethics.
“Through partnerships like these, IBPAP intends to enable the industry and workforce to move up the value chain. We want our skilled talent to perform higher-value work rather than mundane and repetitive tasks, so they continue to be competitive and in-demand,” Madrid said.
Madrid said companies that are “proactive” in developing and revising talent strategies will be “better positioned” to flourish in an AI-driven economy.
Further, he said, “Our success in this endeavor will be critical in generating 1.1 million new jobs for Filipinos, a goal that we had set for the Philippine IT-BPM industry when we launched Roadmap 2028 last year.”
