By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter

THE Philippine information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) sector is projected to generate over $40 billion in revenues this year amid sustained global demand, according to an industry group.

“We should cross $40 billion by the end of the year,” Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) President and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan R. Madrid told reporters on Monday.

Growth will be driven by global demand, especially for banking, financial, and healthcare services, he said.

Mr. Madrid said demand is still mostly from North America.

“[What] we should be scared about is not being skilled enough. That’s the only thing I am concerned about. Because the demand is there, we have the brand. The Philippines is very strong; we are a world leader,” he said.

He said that the Philippines should ensure that its graduates will have the relevant skills for new work types.

“[This is] not just because of artificial intelligence. The nature of work always changes, and so we must adapt and make sure that we give our students and seekers a chance to continue to compete,” he said.

Mr. Madrid said the industry is hoping to employ around two million in the next two years.

“We’re already at 1.82 million digital workers. We want to cross two million soon… If your question is when we will cross two million, I would say in the next 12 to 18 months,” he added.

Mr. Madrid said that the industry is set to exceed its baseline targets under the Philippine IT-BPM Industry Roadmap 2028.

“We have different targets. We have an aggressive target, and we have a baseline target. We will exceed our baseline [targets]. But I’m not satisfied with that,” he said.

“I want us as a country to hit our aggressive target. It’s part of our commitment to performance excellence, going for aggressive targets,” he added.

Under the roadmap, the IT-BPM industry is projected to reach 2.5 million in employee count and generate $59 billion in annual revenues by 2028.

Meanwhile, Mr. Madrid is still optimistic about industry growth despite US President Donald J. Trump’s protectionist policies.

“The problem now is the uncertainty of it all… But 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 or establish new operations in the Philippines,” he said.

“We need to focus only on one thing, and that is to upskill, reskill, and cross-skill our talent. We have the demographics. We have 700,000 university graduates a year. We need them to be employable.”

Most IBPAP members are already investing in the upskilling of the existing workforce, he said.

Mr. Madrid recalled that the IT-BPM sector took a hit during Mr. Trump’s first term as the US President adopted an “America First” policy. He said this affected the industry growth in 2017 and 2018.

“But we live in a different world now. Technology has changed everything. Who is going to do this work? I do not think we can find Americans to do some of the work that we do,” he said.

“So, I remain optimistic about the growth of the industry… We are recalibrating and reviewing our projections on the roadmap. Our roadmap is a six-year roadmap, so at the midpoint, which is later this year, we will do a midterm review,” he added.