Sitel Group, a global leading business process outsourcing (BPO) company, reinforces its commitment to skills training and education by strengthening collaborative partnerships with universities, colleges and technical vocational institutions in the Philippines. Through these partnerships, Sitel provides a variety of informative online classes to students via webinars and Facebook.
“As we continue to adjust to the current situation brought on by the pandemic, it has become vital for our programs to be more targeted and deliberate,” shared Fatima Tigas, Senior Manager, Sitel Academy.
“We quickly transitioned to online learning and through Sitel’s University and Community Partnership program, engaged our educational partners to help bring these classes to their students.”
Sitel Academy is a pioneering BPO skills development program offered for free for near-hires, far-hires, students, out-of-school youth and differently abled individuals. The program has partnered with universities and colleges in Metro Manila and in the various provincial locations where Sitel operates.
Partner schools include Polytechnic University of the Philippines, ABE International Business College, Cainta Catholic College, STI, Tarlac State University, Palawan State University, Western Palawan University and MFI Polytechnic Institute, Inc. to name a few. The modules designed by Sitel are created to bolster existing school programs and prepare students for work after graduation.
“Before the pandemic, we had already been working closely with the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) to deploy the Service Management Program to schools in Palawan to help bridge the gap between what students learn in school and the additional skills they will need to succeed in the workplace,” explained Tigas. “The quarantine may have put this project on hold, but we have continued to pursue providing modules for these essential skills through online webinars and Facebook live events that are designed to give students proper guidance and expose them to actual work environments giving them the leg up they need to be competitive in the workforce.”
Sitel Academy launched its first webinar on May 1, 2020, Labor Day, and discussed what it was like to work with Sitel and the customer experience industry. This was followed by a webinar called “Destination New” giving students an overview of the BPO, hospitality, and management industries. “The Web is Your Classroom” module delving into the online shift of education came next and had over 3,000 active participants. Modules on language skills, effective communication, and proper pronunciation followed.
For the City High School in Palawan, Sitel additionally launched the “Salamat sa K-12, Handa na Ako!” program for graduating senior high school students interested in the BPO industry. The class had over 80 participants who underwent training for a week. The program experienced a 100% pass rate and students who completed it and wanted to work were lined up for opportunities within the company.
“We’re thrilled at the overwhelmingly positive response we’ve received so far,” Tigas said. “For Sitel Academy, our goal is not just to teach skills but also to create lifelong learners. The feedback we’ve received from students who have attended the webinars is that they want to attend more and learn more. Our partner institutions have also expressed their interest in creating even more learning programs together in the future.