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Business process outsourcing continues to boost jobs in the Cape


Cape Town, 28 Apr 2016
Customer Service Agent at work, Cape Town.
Customer Service Agent at work, Cape Town.

The business process services industry is the second-largest contributor to job creation in the Western Cape, driven largely by its strong positioning as a global location for offshore business services.

This is according to the recent Economic Performance Indicator for Cape Town (EPIC) report released by the City of Cape Town. The report indicates that of the 45 400 people employed by the BPS industry in the Western Cape, 29 400 service international markets, which is more than both the Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu Natal regions combined.

The business process services (BPS) industry, of which customer contact centres form a large part, currently contributes R50 billion to the South Africa's gross domestic profit (GDP). In the Western Cape, the industry contributes R10.9 billion of the province's GDP and has been identified as one of the fastest growing sectors within the region.

Business process services involves appointing an external provider to take over the responsibility of a particular business function or process, such as customer interaction services or accounting work for example.

Despite the current challenging economic conditions, the industry still continues to grow and boost job creation significantly. In 2015, the number of people employed within the BPS industry in the Western Cape grew by 4 400 to 45 400 in the previous year.

According to Johann Kunz, Managing Director of the South African operation of WNS, a global Business Process Management company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the outlook for the BPS industry within the Western Cape remains positive.

"We expect this upward growth trend to continue both within the region as well as nationally for the next five years. One of the most exciting benefits to this growth is the extent to which it will bolster job creation, particularly among the youth of our country," says Kunz.

Recognising the company's contribution to job creation within the region, Cape Town Mayor, Patricia De Lille, presented WNS with a certificate of appreciation at a handover ceremony arranged for influential businesses within the Cape metropole. "When you give an unemployed person a job, you restore their dignity and faith and make them feel like part of the country,'' De Lille said at the event.

One of the factors responsible for the marked growth and development seen by the BPS industry locally is the very appealing value proposition the Western Cape presents.

As a global location for offshore business process services, the Western Cape is able to offer significant cost savings, coupled with high quality service delivery. Added to this, is the strong cultural affinity with the UK, Australian, North American and other European geographies as well as the Western Cape's large talent pool of accent-neutral English-speaking people.

In the past, India and the Philippines used to be the only countries associated with delivering offshore business services, both front and back office. However, this has since spread to other geographies, such as South Africa, where unique value propositions and skill sets are on offer.

While the Business Process Services industry continues to grow at speed and expand to include the delivery of other complex processes, there is still great growth potential that exists within the contact centre environment for which the Western Cape has established a global reputation.

"Not only does the BPS industry have the ability to create employment for our young people, it is also able to equip them with the most relevant skills and education to benefit their entire career lifespan. By adding these skilled individuals to the workforce of the Western Cape, we can only continue to drive economic growth within the region and thrive as an international location for end-to-end business process services," concludes Kunz.

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WNS

WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE: WNS), is a leading global business process management company. WNS offers business value to 200+ global clients by combining operational excellence with deep domain expertise in key industry verticals including travel, insurance, banking and financial services, manufacturing, retail and consumer packaged goods, shipping and logistics, healthcare and utilities. WNS delivers an entire spectrum of business process management services such as finance and accounting, customer care, technology solutions, research and analytics and industry specific back office and front office processes. As of 31 December 2015, WNS had 31 340 professionals across 39 delivery centres worldwide including China, Costa Rica, India, Philippines, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom and the United States.

For more information, visit www.wns.com.