"We have seen a rapid increase in interest with five inward investment missions to Gauteng in January compared with three in the last six months of last year," says Keryn House, CIG CEO.
"Joburg is the country`s largest BPO hub, so it is a natural choice for many investors, especially for global brands. We are also receiving a growing number of calls from people wanting to join the call centre industry as it provides competitive wages and is a growing sector. The labour market will certainly feel the positive effects of this growth."
House says it is not yet clear how many people are employed in the sector in Gauteng, but research is being undertaken into growth over the past year.
The South African Contact Centre Community (Sacccom) is implementing a national-level, five-part strategy, encompassing talent development, quality/standards, marketing, incentives and institutional capacity building.
"A consortium of consultants is working on the project with Sacccom, regional associations such as CIG, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Business Trust. Research is under way and working groups have been established in most of the streams with most of the delivery planned to be completed in June," says House.
Sacccom has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Association of Software and Service Companies, its counterpart in India, with plans for an inward investment mission into SA planned for February.
House believes the local BPO/call centre industry is fast becoming one of SA`s leading IT-based services as many international companies are considering investment into the country.
"Gauteng has always been dominant in SA in terms of call centre numbers and volume.
"We are also applying a marketing model that worked extremely well for India to secure big contracts from international players," says House.
"We are noticing a number of shifts within the local industry, as different players take on hybrid business models. For example, companies are starting to offer third-party BPO in certain sectors and certain time zones that suit them. The integration of an enterprise with its call centre is still a challenge but we are seeing some best practices emerge here.
"There is also a shift to offer, build, operate and transfer models to investors by ICT vendors. The emergence of BPO business parks, which is a global phenomenon, speeds up set-up time for new investors. This is a great advantage, as set-up time is always a critical factor in this sector.
"The Business Trust, DTI and Department of Labour fund CIG on a national level. On a provincial level, we are supported by the Gauteng Economic Development Agency and locally by the City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality," concludes House.
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