Cebu BPO Firms Offer Most Jobs, IT Professionals Get Highest Pay

The 2017 edition of the JobStreet.com Cebu Jobs and Salary Report reveals that specialists in information technology (IT) continue to be the best-paid employees in the Queen City of the South, while the business process outsourcing (BPO)/shared services industry also continues to have the most jobs available in the region’s employment marketplace.

The report also shows that some of Cebu’s specialists in the junior executive and managerial levels actually earn more compared to the average of their specializations nationally. Cebu’s banking (PHP30,415 average) and PR/communications (PHP27,125) specialists in the junior executive level earn more compared to the national averages of PHP27,188 and PHP26,948 of the same specializations, respectively.

Moreover, the average earnings of Cebu’s managers in corporate strategy and real estate are also higher compared to the national average. Corporate strategy managers in Cebu earn PHP13,587 more compared to the national average, while Cebu’s real estate managers earn an average of PHP81,625, which is close to twice the national average of PHP48,976.

Job trends in Cebu and Central Visayas

The data on job trends for Cebu and Central Visayas also show similarities with the national list, with BPO/shared services, retail, and manufacturing topping the list of industries with the most jobs.

The report also delves deeper into which specializations the BPO/shared services firms want to hire. Specialists in IT and education are now more in-demand than their tech support and telesales counterparts, the latter seen as traditionally more “employable” by BPO/shared services companies.

An outlook for fresh graduates

The report also includes the results of a survey done on fresh graduate hiring behavior participated in by 30 Cebu and Central Visayas employers.

According to the study, all respondents claim to have hired one for the past twelve months and they are now keener on looking into a candidate’s attitude as a primary qualification rather than previous work experience or academic honors. Second, while the rest of the country does not regard school as a primary consideration when looking at a fresh graduate’s profile, Central Visayan and Cebu respondents consider it the third most important factor, after field of study relevance.

Employers were also asked to rank particular attributes of their fresh graduate hires. While they scored highest on willingness to learn, personal grooming, and punctuality, they would need to improve on their sense of initiative, task management efficiency, and going beyond the call of duty.

With the information presented on the report, JobStreet.com aims to inform employers of current employment trends. “With the dynamism Cebu’s job market, we hope to equip all our employers with all the tools that should enable them to be more competitive in the eyes of jobseekers and the rest of the job market,” JobStreet.com Country Manager Philip Gioca said.