February/March 2016 www.fDiIntelligence.com 27

CONTENTS

fOrEwOrd

29 Jamaica has carved a niche as a business process outsourcing hub. Anthony Hylton, Jamaica’sminister ofindustry, investment and commerce, explains how government plans will further build on the growth

already experienced by what is quickly becoming a key sector within the country’s economy.

OvErviEw

30 Jamaica is eager to claim its share of the international outsourcing market and with a young, educatedpopulation, strong links to the US and the UK, a government committed to business-friendly policies,

and an aptitude for customer service, the sector is expanding fast. Natasha Turak reports.

iNTErviEw

33Yoni Epstein, the president of the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica and Itel BPOSolutions’ chief executive, has a vision. He explains his plan to turn the Caribbean island into a world-

leading BPO destination over the next 10 years.

iNfraSTruCTurE

35To realise its ambition of becoming a globally known hub for BPO operators, Jamaica needed to attract big-name players. The Barnett Tech Park – by bringing in Vistaprint and then Xerox and ACCT – did just this,

giving the country international credibility. Natasha Turak looks at how these essential first steps were taken.

SkillS

37The importance of training is recognised at all levels throughout Jamaica, to the point where many of itsgovernment-sponsored programmes are developed to cater to the specific needs of the industries

investing in the country. Natasha Turak reports on the impact this has had with regards to FDI.

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29

foreword

A ttracting investment and creating more jobsis part of the government of Jamaica’s planto create a vibrant, logistics-centred economy.

The outsourcing industry is a vital part of that plan.With 70% of buyers planning to increase their use ofoutsourcing, we are convinced that this will con-tinue to be a major growth sector for years to come.

With our continuously improving business envi-ronment, stable economy, globally recognised tal-ent pool, modern and cost-effective telecommunica-tions, and advantageous geographic location, weare certainly open for business in the outsourcingsector industry, as well as in other areas of our econ-omy. We also have a comprehensive suite of incen-tives that investors can enjoy: income tax conces-sions, exemption from duties and taxes on importeditems for the business, and employment tax creditsare just a few.

In addition, we offer free training and recruit-ment support, which can be customised to theneeds of investors.

Supporting outsourcingToday, we are proud of the fact that Jamaica ishome to an estimated 40 outsourcing companies,including leading global firms such as Xerox,Teleperformance, Hinduja Global Solutions, Aloricaand Sutherland Global Services. More than 17,000Jamaicans are currently employed in the sector,with projections for unprecedented levels ofgrowth over the next five years.

More recent developments in the sector includethe public-private partnership agreement to buildan additional 11,000 square metres of space in theNaggo Head Technology Park in the parish of StCatherine, specifically for the business process out-sourcing (BPO) industry. In Montego Bay, Barnett TechPark is home to a number of major BPO players, withconstruction under way for more to enter the space.

Moreover, existing companies, such asSutherland Global Services, IBEX and HindujaGlobal Services, have been expanding their opera-tions. This is testament to the value that Jamaicaoffers as a nearshore outsourcing location, andthe future growth potential of this trillion-dollarglobal industry.

As such, the government of Jamaica continuesto introduce measures to support growth in the sec-

AgrowingpresenceontheBPOmapJamaica has carved a niche as a business process outsourcing hub. AnthOnyhyltOn, Jamaica’s minister of industry, investment and commerce, explainshow government plans will further build on the growth already experiencedby what is quickly becoming a key sector within the country’s economy

tor. Our investment promotion agency, Jampro, hasintroduced a number of strategies to boost growthof the outsourcing sector in Jamaica:■ A multi-pronged approach focusing on the devel-opment of the ecosystem – policy, infrastructure,training – as well as aggressive marketing toincrease global mindshare of Jamaica as anoutsourcing location.■ Expanding the industry through geographicaldispersion, where possible, thereby presenting thefull destination as an option for outsourcing.■ Promoting the export of outsourcing services,while working closely with clients in the executionof marketing penetration initiatives, with the aimto secure global contracts for their Jamaica-basedoutsourcing services.

Furthermore, to address the lack of readily availa-ble and suitable space to house outsourcing compa-nies, the government of Jamaica has incentivised thebuild-out of space with the creation of an infrastruc-ture loan facility, managed by the Development Bankof Jamaica. Our persistent promotion of the sectorhas resulted in a growing number of private sectorinvestors becoming more overtly interested in devel-oping real estate for the industry.

As we pave the way for the development of a logis-tics-centred economy, the recently passed SpecialEconomic Zone Act has repealed the Jamaica ExportFree Zone Act. Now, we are moving towards the desig-nation, promotion, development, operation andmanagement of special economic zones. The act alsoallows for the establishment of a Special EconomicZone Authority, a tax credit for investment inemployee training, and the granting of benefits andother measures to attract domestic and foreigninvestments in BPO and other sectors.

We are continuously working to improve thebusiness climate and see an even brighter futurefor more outsourcing investments in particular,and generally, within other sectors of our economy.This is an exciting time to do business and investin Jamaica. ■

Anthony Hylton is minister of industry, investment andcommerce for Jamaica. The Ministry of Industry, Investmentand Commerce of Jamaica contributed to the cost of produc-tion of this report, along with other sponsors. Writing andediting were carried out independently by fDi Magazine.

february/march 2016 www.fdiintelligence.com

30

Jamaica is eager to claim itsshare of the internationaloutsourcing market and witha young, educated population,strong links to the us and theuk, a government committed tobusiness-friendly policies, andan aptitude for customer service,the sector is expanding fast.Natasha turak reports

aBPOambitionJamaica’s rich history as a hub

of commerce and trade goes backcenturies, and its image as a par-adise for holidaymakers is well

known worldwide. In the course ofthe past decade, however, the coun-try has made strides in diversifyingits economy and chasing growth byfocusing on the ICT and businessprocess outsourcing (BPO) indus-tries. Faced with high public debt,13.2% unemployment in 2015 anda GDP growth rate of 1.9%, one ofthe slowest in the developingworld, Jamaica is relying on thesestrategic sectors to deliver growthand job creation.

“It has been a challenge of lowgrowth or no growth,” says AnthonyHylton, Jamaica’s minister of indus-try, investment and commerce,describing the past few decades.The country has run a fiscal deficitalmost every year since its independ-ence in 1962 and currently has a140% debt-to-GDP ratio. In anattempt to reverse this, the govern-ment has embarked on a wide-rang-ing set of reforms in exchange forsubstantial support packages fromthe IMF, the World Bank and theInter-American Development Bank.

“We had to engage with macro-economic reforms, fiscal and taxincentives, and business environ-ment reforms, and the numbersdemonstrate that we have success-fully met these requirements,”says Mr Hylton.

Indeed, measures to improvethe private sector environmenthave enhanced confidence, liftingJamaica to 58th place in the WorldBank’s Doing Business Survey for2015, up 27 places from 2014.However, continued economic recov-ery requires further work. “We haveto be much better integrated into theglobalised economy and FDI is a criti-cal component of that,” says MrHylton. “One of the first things wehave to do is look at the competitiveadvantages of the Jamaican economyand how we can leverage our assetsas opportunities for FDI.”

AnewphenomenonOf those assets, one that is makingnoticeable bounds is Jamaica’s bud-ding BPO sector. While call centresand accounting services may notimmediately spring to mind whenone thinks of Jamaica, a range ofmultinational outsourcers have

www.fdiintelligence.com february/march 2016

A buzz: Jamaica has established itself as a leading player in the business process outsourcing market with callcentres such as the one pictured left opening across the country, including in the capital Kingston (pictured right)

31February/March 2016 www.fDiIntelligence.com

come to the island do business, andit is now hard at work to raise itsprofile in the industry.

“The BPO sector is a new phe-nomenon of the past 10 years,” saysDiane Edwards, president of Jampro,Jamaica’s national trade and invest-ment promotion agency. “In 2009the sector had about 11,000 employ-ees and now the number is over17,000, so in the past five years ithas grown by 63%.”

The industry now generatesabout $300m a year and hostssome 40 outsourcing companies, themajority of which are international.“Several factors have led to that – wehave a young workforce, a strong ter-tiary education system, six universi-ties and English as our official lan-guage,” says Ms Edwards. The govern-ment recently implemented aman-date to double the size of the indus-try to 32,000 employees by 2020.“That is our goal,” she says, “andI think we’re on track.”

Working their assets“The question is not ‘why Jamaica?’It is ‘why not Jamaica?’,” says KarlGraham, chief executive and founderof Jamaica-based contact centre

Fullgram Solutions. “Our strongestasset is our people, and our hospital-ity background gives us a naturalaffinity for services,” he says.

One challenge,Mr Grahamobserves, is getting Jamaica’s nameout there and breaking the stereotypeof it being littlemore than a beachdestination. “Wewant to let theworld knowwe are very good at BPO.Agencies such as Jampro have beeninstrumental in getting the name outthere,” he says. Fullgram started inKingston in 2010with 44 employeesand nowhasmore than 500, provid-ing contact centre services for sevenlocal and international clients, threeof which are Fortune 500 companies.

Massachusetts-based digitalhealth services companyMedullanfirst came to Jamaica in 2014,attracted by a number of advantagesthat the country offered. “Jamaica isin the US east coast time zone, it isgeographically proximate to the USand has a well-educated populationwithmany cultural similarities,”says GordonWebster, Medullan’sprogramme director. “A key aspectof our work is that openness – it isjust a goodmatch culturally.”

Jampro’s Ms Edwards concurs,

describing Jamaicans as “Afro-Saxons”; a heritage of US and Britishcultural affinity goes a long way inbuilding strong customer relations,she says. “You also find a lot of thevoice work is coming to Jamaicabecause of our accent – that pictureof Jamaican warmth, confidenceand customer service hasmade atremendous difference,” addsClaude Duncan, Jampro’s vice-president. “There aremany busi-nesses here whose customer satisfac-tion scores have topped all theirother areas worldwide.”

“I think Jamaica has an abso-lutely fantastic labour pool,” saysLeroy Reid, country director at Xeroxsubsidiary Jamaica ACS, an IT out-sourcer and Jamaica’s largest privateemployer, with 7000 staff. “Ourlabour pool is about 1.3million,and 60% of people are in the servicessector. And our client testimonialssay Jamaica’s talent pool comparesfavourably with that of anywherein the world with respect to intellec-tual capacity, productivity and abil-ity tomeet evolving client needs.”

Mr Reid and numerous otherBPO players point to the country’straining and education infra-

jaMaIcaovervieW

[Jamaicahas] tobemuchbetterintegrated into theglobalised economyand Fdi is a criticalcomponentoF that

32

structure, through which entitiessuch as the Heart Trust/NTA,Jamaica’s national training agency,and theMinistry of Education designand fund programmes to ensureyoung Jamaicans are equipped withvital industry skills across a range ofsectors. “In the 16 years that Xeroxhas been here, we have nevermisseda hiring target,” says Mr Reid.

A teameffortCompanies cite Jamaica’s businessenvironment as a further attraction.“The government has been very pro-active in providing excellent tele-coms infrastructure,” says GloriaHenry, vice-president of Montego BayFree Zone (MBFZ). “It also provides arange of incentives to help attractFDI in BPO and service work – tax-free benefits to investors, exceptionfrom customs duties, VAT and so on.”

“A remaining challenge is infra-structure development,” she adds.“However, the government hasmadeBPO a priority sector in the nationalgrowth agenda and has earmarked

funds through the DevelopmentBank of Jamaica to facilitate the con-struction of purpose-designed build-ings, making usmoremarketablein the BPO sector.” By 2020, MsHenry expects MBFZ – which cur-rently hosts 18 companies, three ofwhich are Jamaican – to have at least10,000 employees. It currently occu-pies 55,750 squaremetres of space,but there is room for at least 35,000squaremetres of expansion, whichis already attracting interest frominvestors, she says.

The free zone recently built aBPO incubator with help from theInter-American Development Bank.“It’s a 200-seat fully equipped facilitysupporting BPO growth and develop-ment. It covers everything – all theinvestor has to do is provide the bod-ies,” says Ms Henry. “It has so farbeen very successful in helping newinvestors come to Jamaica and testthe environment.”

The scope of the clients servicedby Jamaica’s multinational BPO com-munity speaks for itself – companies

jamaicaoverview

www.fDiintelligence.com February/march 2016

such as Amazon, AT&T and Netflixrepresent global standards of cus-tomer service. And the fact thatmost of the international BPOoffices are headed by Jamaicans isa testament to their work perfor-mance. “We’re in this for the longhaul,” says Ms Edwards at Jampro.“We see the whole outsourcing cate-gory expanding and there is anopportunity to interest more localentrepreneurs and createmore localcompanies that can really securethe industry.”

“Everyone knows Jamaica fortourism,” says Jampro’sMrDuncan.“But it is the stepping up ofmarket-ing and outreach internationally thatis absolutely critical to our success inthis space. So, while we tick all theboxes in terms of ICT infrastructure,human capital, talent and cost, wehave to break out of being unknown.”

Jamaica’s biggest challenge willbe establishing its name as a globaloutsourcing destination – and itseems the groundwork is well underway. Now it is time to tell its story.■

33

Jamaicaprofile

Yoni EpstEin, thEprEsidEnt of thEBusinEss procEssindustrY associationof Jamaica and itElBpo solutions’ chiEfExEcutivE, has a vision.hE tElls Natasha turakaBout his plan to turnthE cariBBEan islandinto a world-lEadingBpo dEstination ovErthE nExt 10 YEars

A leading role“If you look at the Caribbean,

Jamaica has to come upbecause no other country in

the region matches Jamaica’s scalein terms of population, proximity tothe US, infrastructure in technologyand BPO [business process outsourc-ing] facilities and human capitalabilities. But we have to remain bull-ish,” says Yoni Epstein, the presidentof the Business Process IndustryAssociation of Jamaica (BPIAJ) andItel BPO Solutions’ chief executive.

Formerly a global operationsdirector for resorts operator Sandals,Mr Epstein spent 12 years managingmore than 400 employees in fivecountries. In 2012, he branchedout to form Itel BPO Solutions inMontego Bay Free Zone, which nowhas more than 550 employees intwo facilities in Montego Bay, onein Kingston and one in Freeport,Grand Bahamas. In the same year,he formed the BPIAJ, the leadingnational entity for improving thelocal business environment, assist-ing member companies and stake-holders, and promoting the sectorin Jamaica and internationally.

Diversification driveItel BPO Solutions began as a travelbooking service and has sinceexpanded to medical billing andprocessing, telecoms, utilities,tourism and car rentals and back-office processing. “We are reallydiversifying our portfolio to be afully fledged BPO [company], whichhas been very beneficial to thegrowth of our organisation,” saysMr Epstein. Itel BPO Solutions isnow the largest local player in theJamaican BPO landscape, somethingMr Epstein attributes to its proactiveapproach to marketing, training andcompany culture.

“The culture in our organisationis premised on four Ys: quality, integ-rity, reliability and family,” he says.A large number of Jamaicans leavehigh school to work, so Mr Epsteinprovides his staff with training andcertifications. “This helps build fam-ily orientation and work culture. Youare not only in business to makemoney, but you are reinvestingin your workforce,” he says.

In 2013, Mr Epstein was recog-nised as one of the 50 most influen-tial executives in nearshore out-sourcing in the Latin America andCaribbean region by news sourceNearshore Americas. And, as theleading voice for the BPO industryregionally, he stresses the needfor greater development of spacefor the industry, as well as morelocal investment.

“In our drive to put more empha-sis on BPO, the BPIAJ along with thepublic sector have led investors torealise it is worth taking the chanceto develop the necessary space andfacilities,” says Mr Epstein. His ownventure with Itel BPO Solutions wasa risky one – he began with 465square metres of undeveloped spaceand seven employees. “The greatestbenefit of the BPIAJ has been froman advocacy perspective. We workedwith the government to make surespace was developed and that newpolicies would not deter furthergrowth of the sector,” he says.

Skilling upTraining remains of paramountimportance to Mr Epstein. “Wecan talk about BPO and its growthopportunities, but if we don’t havea labour pool we won’t be successfulat it,” he stresses. Collaborationbetween the BPIAJ, the Ministryof Industry, Investment andCommerce, and the Ministry ofEducation resulted in a partnershipwith the Heart Trust/NTA, Jamaica’snational training agency, whichdevelops job training programmesin a range of sectors. “It was thefirst time the call-centre stakehold-ers were all at the table with thenational training industry to revampthe curriculum for call-centre train-ing,” he says.

“Our organisation as a Jamaican-born BPO facility is investingextremely heavily in marketing andbusiness development, to expandbusiness here and create more jobsfor Jamaicans,” says Mr Epstein.“We have to remain bullish – as amedium-sized firm, we need to stayahead of the curve and move fasterthan anyone else to remain relevantand be disruptive to the market.” ■

february/march 2016 www.fdiintelligence.com

2012itel BpoSolutionsfounder and cEo

previouslydirector of site operations,sandals and Beaches resortscontact centre

Honoursnamed among top 50 mostinfluential executives in nearshoreoutsourcing in latin america andthe caribbean by nearshoreamericas

CurriCulumVitaeYoni EpstEin

itel: jamaica’sbpoexpertsItel-BPO Solutions is a market leader in the businessprocess outsourcing space and has recently madefurther inroads with its launch of three new companiesto its business portfolio: Itel-Media, Itel-Travel and SignUp And Get A Job Ja.

What started off with two agents in asmall room in June 2012, now stands asone of Jamaica’s leading providers ofbusiness process and contact centremanagement to some of the largestcompanies globally.

itel-bpo solutions is one of the country’smarket leaders in the industry, and offers anintegrated suite of business process outsourc-ing (bpo) operations. these include, inboundand outbound customer engagement, sales,online booking services, web chat, socialmedia, Google advertising, data entry, andquality assurance services.

the company’s mission is to increase itsclients’ competitive advantage, by offeringsolutions to achieving their goals, helping todrive productivity and efficiency.

itel-bpo boasts more than 550 agents infour offices, located in Freeport, Grandbahama, the bahamas, montego bay andKingston, jamaica, respectively, boasting thetitle – leading jamaican-owned bpoemployer.

With this strong human capital, the com-pany looked at industries where it would havean added advantage and could bring value toits clients. the outcome, three additional com-

panies to its offerings – ‘itel -media’, ‘itel -travel’and ‘signUp, Get a job ja’.

ceo for itel-bpoYoni epstein, added that itwas, “a response to the growing needs of ourclients for these services. Knowing the capa-bilities of our jamaican people i knew it was anobrainer for us to venture into these services.the people whowork in our company arewhywe are successful and is what keeps our busi-ness ticking over day in day out. ”

Itel-MedIaitel-media was born out of a void in the digitalmedia marketing locally, with the capacity tohelp clients becomemore efficient, while pro-viding valuewith high-level skill sets.

“We signed an agreement with an interna-tional firm to do social media, Google ppcmanagement along with other media man-agement solutions and we felt that it was timeto capitalize on other skill sets in jamaica. it’sthe skill sets and the human capital that makeour business & this industry, ” saidmr epstein.

Itel-travelthe company’s travel section was born out ofthe tourism industry. it currently provides qual-ity assurance support management for uniquevacations the worldwide representatives forsandals resorts the regions largest resort chain.

itel-traveluses itel-bpo’sawardwinningcallcentre infrastructure to offer solutions foruntapped revenue for hospitality brands. it pro-vides business-to-business travel technologysolutions to themarket locally & regionally.

through its platform, users have access tohundreds of thousands of excursions globally,where itel-bpo currently receives very gener-ous discounts on 400 airlines, 250,000 hotelproperties, 17 cruise lines and 36 car rentalbrands at belowmarket prices.

current success of this new brand boastslevels of sales conversions in excess of 40%.

SIgn Up get a Job Jaas true as its name, this full-service employ-ment platform manages and oversees theentire process of employee placement. it con-nects job seekers and employers by taking thehassle out of the recruitment process. the firmplans on doing an intensive tour of localschools and career expos later this year.

itel-bpo plans to continue its strides as anindustry leader. the award-winning companyis actively searching for innovative ways toexpand on its services and deliver world-classservice to its clients. its experienced manage-ment team has more than 50 years of com-bined experience in the sector. this year, thecompany has plans for the development forthe expansion of its montego bay offices andto further expand in Kingston.

“We have been at the forefront of jamaica’sdevelopment in thebpospacesincewestartedour company in2012andwecontinue todo soon many fronts. With business that we havelined up and where things are heading we areplanning to have another stellar year projectingover 1,000employees in our company”.

ContaCt:patrique Goodallinfo@goodallandco.com876.841.5446

Sponsored by

Spotlighton itel-BpoAdvertiSementfeAture

“thecompanY’smission isto increase itsclients’competitiveadvantaGe,bYoFFerinGsolUtionstoachievinGtheirGoals,helpinGtodriveprodUctivitYandeFFiciencY.”

Behind the facade of pleasure-seeking, Jamaica is hard at work attracting multinationals with its outsourcing know-how

O n a drive throughMontegoBay on Jamaica’s northerncoast, it is impossible not to

be taken aback by stunning land-scapes and vibrant colours. Thescenery is not exactly evocative of ITand service centres, something thatmany peopleworking in Jamaica’sbusiness process outsourcing (BPO)sector say provides a challengewhenit comes to promoting its suitabilityfor the industry.

However, that land is key to thecountry’s success: open space suita-ble for large purpose-built office

buildings and operations centrescapable of housing thousandsof seats. The development of officespace, BPO operators say, must befacilitated and supported in orderfor the industry to expand. Thisrequires adequate financing, main-tenance and support from a numberof important players in the publicand private sector.

Taking the plunge“Nobody wanted to build space –it was always a chicken and egg sce-nario,” says Yoni Epstein, chief exec-

To realise iTs ambiTion of becoming a globally known hub forbPo oPeraTors, Jamaica needed To aTTracT big-name Players.The barneTT Tech Park – in bringing in VisTaPrinT, and ThenadVanced call cenTre Technologies and XeroX – did JusT This,giVing The counTry inTernaTional credibiliTy. Natasha turaklooks aT how These essenTial firsT sTePs were Taken

Buildingafoundation

Jamaicabpo infrasTrucTure

february/march 2016 www.fdiintelligence.com 35

utive of local outsourcing firmItel BPO Solutions and presidentof the Business Process IndustryAssociation of Jamaica. This wasoften due to the risk associatedwith setting up physical facilities– acquiring financing could betough, and if the facility failed toattract tenants, its developers wouldsuffer a substantial loss.

One of the country’s pioneersin this regard, says Mr Epstein, isBarnett Tech Park, a 19-hectarefacility in Montego Bay in whichabout 30,000 square metres (sq m)of retro-fitted BPO office space iscurrently being developed. Startedin the late 2000s with help from theDevelopment Bank of Jamaica (DBJ)and government support, the techpark now houses three blue-chipcompanies – Dutch printing com-pany Vistaprint, US-based AdvancedCall Centre Technologies (ACCT) andglobal business services giant Xerox.

“If we really want to build thisindustry, we have to have space,”says Mark Kerr-Jarrett, managingdirector of Barnett Ltd, the devel-oper and operator of Barnett TechPark. In 2008 the tech park sold dis-counted land to Vistaprint with theidea that attracting an establishedmultinational would give weight toJamaica as a BPO destination. “We

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jamaicabpo infrastructure

www.fDiintelligence.com February/march 2016

brought Vistaprint in as an anchor,and once there was a blue-chip com-pany here, others knew it was attrac-tive. That vote of confidence helpedus a lot,” says Mr Kerr-Jarrett, aMontego Bay native.

“The park then sought a way tofinance constructing the buildings,because we realised that withoutthat inventory sitting on the ground,the clients won’t come,” says PaulaKerr-Jarrett, company director atBarnett Ltd. “Many companies wantspace immediately, but not everyonehas the finance to have inventory sit-ting there, so it is a big risk.”

collaborative approachIn 2013, Jamaica’s Ministryof Industry, Investment andCommerce offered the tech parka development financing packagethrough the DBJ. “We were able tobuild these spaces despite not yethaving tenants – the governmentwas very flexible and supportiveof our idea,” says Ms Kerr-Jarrett.ACCT and Xerox soon came to fillthe space, each taking one level of a

427 sq m building housing 1000seats, and both have expandedinto additional buildings since.

“Most operators run two shiftsper day, so 1000 seats means 2000direct jobs per building,” says MrKerr-Jarrett. “And a significant sup-port industry comes with it – secu-rity, transportation, catering, main-tenance, mechanical and electricalengineering services, etc.”

The tech park is part of a biggerdevelopment including aMontegoBay campus for the University of theWest Indies, 1200 new homes to bebuilt by Gore Development andfinancial services group Sagicor’s cre-ation of BPO dormitories in the vicin-ity, creating a campus-style commu-nity. “It will also have the capacityfor 74,000 sqm of production space,which is 16,000 seats, and thenmorethan 18,580 sqm of commercial ser-vices,” says Mr Kerr-Jarrett.

“The government and the DBJhave really bent over backwards totry to facilitate our developments,”says Ms Kerr-Jarrett. “Without theirhelp, this would never work. They

understand its importance, which iscritical because it’s a partnership.”

return on investmentMr Kerr-Jarrett calculates that aprojected 16,000 employees, if allplanned space is properly financedand built out within the next fiveyears, could bring in about $55mperyear of government revenue in directtaxation. “And if they go to two shifts,you are looking at $110mperannum,” he adds.

“The government just hasto stay the course with its IMF pro-grammes, continue to offer goodbusiness incentives, and make sureschools are turning out studentswith the requisite skills for employ-ment in the BPO industry,” saysMs Kerr-Jarrett. “We can build asmany buildings as we want, butJamaica itself must be attractiveas a BPO destination.”

“This really is a nation-buildingexercise,” says Mr Kerr-Jarrett. “A ris-ing tide floats all boats. If we can getJamaica to rise, then we all rise withit, and everybody benefits.” ■

37

The imporTance of Trainingis recognised aT all levelsThroughouT Jamaica, To The poinTwhere many of iTs governmenT-sponsored programmes aredeveloped To caTer To The specificneeds of The indusTries invesTingin The counTry. Natasha turakreporTs on The impacT This hashad wiTh regards To fdi

atyourservice

A s the cost of university educa-tion in Jamaica rises, manyof the country’s young peo-

ple are leaving secondary school towork, creating a gap that many busi-nesses are looking to fill with train-ing and certification. The collabora-tion of private companies, Jamaica-based institutions, community cen-tres and the government has beenessential in creating these opportu-nities for young Jamaicans. It hasalso helped to reduce youth unem-ployment, which stands at 38%nationally, according to WorldBank figures.

While its low costs and humantalent have made Jamaica a key busi-ness destination for an increasingnumber of multinationals, its com-mitment to tailoring its employeetraining to investors’ needs hasshown just how innovative andcollaborative the country can be.

Home-grownsupportUnder the 1982 Human Employmentand Resource Training (Heart) Act,the Heart Trust/NTA trust fund andtraining agency was founded, whichis financed by a 3% annual contribu-tion from all Jamaican employersabove a certain income level. “Wealways pay close attention to whatemployers want, because it is theirfunding we are using to equip theworkforce,” says Dr Wayne Wesley,director of the Heart Trust/NTA.“All the training we offer is drivenby labour market information andemployer feedback indicating wherethe jobs and the demand will be, andwe make sure there is an adequatesupply of individuals ready to takeon those opportunities.”

The Heart Trust was established

to ensure Jamaica’s youth wouldhave an opportunity for upwardmobility and development, accord-ing to Mr Wesley. It now has 30training institutes across the coun-try focused on every job sector inJamaica, from hospitality and con-struction to beauty care and busi-ness process outsourcing (BPO). Todate the trust has enrolled about550,000 trainees and certifiedmore than 300,000. Enrolmentfor 2016 is estimated to be 55,000.

“We also work with the Universityof Technology, the University of theWest Indies and others. It is a collabo-rative effort,” says Mr Wesley. “Theonly concern is the rate at which jobsbecome available to support thenumber of people we train.”

The Heart Trust provides a broadbase of technician-level training,then partners with industry playersto tailor-make custom courses basedon their needs. And while the agencyoffers training in every sector, it pri-oritises what is at the top of the gov-ernment’s agenda. “For example, thegovernment is now supporting theBPO sector, so we are making sure

Opening the floodgates: Jamaica’s Heart Trust/NTA works with educational facilities, including the University of the West Indies (pictured), to provide students with training, which is devel-oped in response to labour market information and employer feedback

february/march 2016 www.fdiintelligence.com

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our resources facilitate that.Wherever jobs are likely to be iswhere we have a purpose and amandate to support,” says MrWesley.

Partnerships in action“The government, through theHeart Trust, has a customer careBPO programme that it hasmadeavailable for the industry to buildup the labour pool,” says Leroy Reid,country director at service providerJamaica ACS, a Xerox company.“Xerox also worked with theBusiness Process IndustryAssociation of Jamaica and thegovernment to revise some ofHeart’s training curricula to ensurethey are a fit for industry require-ments.” The biggest BPO player inthe country, Xerox now has 7000employees in Jamaica, its fourthlargest concentration globally.

BPO companies also take ontraining roles of their own to covertrainees’ costs, often in partnershipwith agencies such as the HeartTrust. Sutherland Global Services,one of the largest BPOmultination-als active in Jamaica, offers individu-als in at-risk communities an oppor-tunity to be certified withMicrosoftbasics. “We have so far graduated

more than 500 at-risk youths andwe have taken a percentage of thoseas apprentices at Sutherland for ayear,” says Odetta Rockhead,Sutherland Global’s vice-presidentand country head. “This was onlymade possible by the Heart [Trust].The apprenticeship programme hasthem in real-life work roles, fromaccounting to administration to IT.”

Development continues on thejob, according toGloriaHenry, presi-dent of theMontego Bay Free Zone,home to 18 outsourcing companies,including Xerox. “We’ve started toexpand andmove up the value chainwith our services –we started financeand accounting, andwe can gettrained graduates from the universi-ties,” she says. “We also startedmedi-cal billing and software developmentand [we] intend to expand in that area.TheHeart College of Innovation andTechnology is expanding and build-ing facilities inMontego Bay andwewant to partnerwith it to expandthose skill sets sowe can bringmore IT-relatedwork to Jamaica.”

Starting at the sourceJamaica’s government is pursuingcomputer proficiency and ICT educa-tion for its youngest citizens with

organisations such as E-LearningJamaica (e-LJam), an agency of theMinistry of Science, Technology,Energy andMining. E-LJam producescontent and curricula for schools inpartnership with the Ministry ofEducation, the country’s universitiesand other private and public entitiesto promote technology integrationinto the education system from pre-school through to secondary andteacher training schools.

E-LJam trains all 11,500 teachersin the country’s high school systemin partnership withMicrosoft,which provides learning suites at asubsidised cost, and with help fromthe Heart Trust’s ICT training pro-grammes. The agency is currentlyin the pilot phase of its Tablets inSchools project, supplying 25,000tablets to students and teachers in38 schools with the goal of increas-ing youth access to e-content.

“We feel that these projects willprepare students to bemore techno-logically savvy,” says Avrill Crawford,the chief executive of e-LJam. “Theywill ensure that more school leavershave the skills required in growingindustries such as BPO – computerliteracy, problem solving, and criti-cal thinking. All those things arecritical to the success of the BPOindustry in Jamaica.”

Remote accessDespite the Heart Trust’s broad reach,Jamaica has a poverty rate of 16.5%andmany economically depressedcommunities where training institu-tions have traditionally struggled toreach. “Whatwe have strategicallydone is something called communitytraining interventions andmobilelabs, which deliver training in part-nershipwith us in almost every sin-gle community of the country,” saysMrWesley. These smaller,mobiletraining units – there are nearly 90across Jamaica – are operated fromchurches, community centres andschools in remote areas. They offertraining inwelding, hospitality, con-struction andmore, with supportand guidance from theHeart Trust.

“As an organisation, we are estab-lished to facilitate the trust of thegovernment for economic develop-ment and our own competitivenessas a country,” adds MrWesley. “Ourparticular remit is workforce devel-opment, and for any investor whorequires the services of training anddevelopment, the Heart Trust standsready tomake that possible.”■

www.fDiIntelligence.com February/March 2016

jaMaIcaSkillS

Building blocks: a number of international outsourcing companies, including Xerox (pictured), have chosen toexpand in Jamaica, attracted by the country’s highly skilled workforce

mbfz:homeofoutsourcinginthecaribbeanThe Montego Bay Free Zone is recognised both insideand outside Jamaica as the leading outsourcing locationin the Caribbean.

Established in 1985, the Montego BayFree Zone (MBFZ) overlooks the tranquiland pristine waters of the Bogue lagoon,onthepeninsularsouthwestofMontegoBay, Jamaica’s world-renowned northcoast. Thezone reflects themixof resorthospitality in an efficient business envi-ronment that is characteristic ofJamaica’s tourism capital.

the mbfz is operated by the Portauthority of Jamaica and currently has morethan 600,000 square feet of space, supportingoffshore companies engaged in the informa-tion communications technology/businessprocess outsourcing (ict/bPo) sector inJamaica. the mbfz ict sector supports a widerange of bPo operations in data operations,receivables management, market research,reservation, customer service, sales, softwaredevelopment, finance and accounting (f&a)and other back office processes. the mbfz ishome to 65% of the overseas call centresoperating in Jamaica.

With Jamaica ranked as the leading out-sourcing location in the caribbean, the mbfzis the ideal hub for new investors to leverageJamaica’s many favourable advantages toinvestors. as stated by one large fortune 500us-based company “We have several advan-tages here in Jamaica – we are an englishspeaking country; geographically, we are closeto 90% of our client base, usually a couple

hours travelwill enable our clients to get here iftheyneed to see theoperations andmeetwiththe talented people first hand; we understandthe american business culture and we adaptto it very well, which makes it very easy to dobusiness with our customers.”

InvEsTor BEnEFITsinvestors locating their contact or call centrebusiness in montego bay will have access to awide range of quality services and a businessenvironment that is supportive of a successfuloperation. these include:• a workforce that is qualified, skilled andcustomer service-oriented

• a telecommunications industry withmultiple players, offering highly competitiverates in a deregulated sector

• a tourism destination, where foreigninvestors feel a greater sense of security

• a ‘business haven’ for investors that offersopportunities for work and leisure in oneconvenient location

• modern business facilities• access to sophisticated technical andfinancial services

• business Process industry association ofJamaica

sErvIcEs provIdEd In MBFZthe free zone provides a wide variety of ser-vices to investors and their employees:

• training school – providing workforcedevelopment training for companies on site.

• bonded warehouse/customs – providingon-site logistics services and door-to-doordelivery.

• health care and social services –engagement centre, medical clinic andsports club.

• food services – canteens, kiosks andvendingmachines.

• banking and transportation services –automated banking machines (abms) andcontract transportation operators.

• freezonestatus–granted through itsparentcompany thePort authority of Jamaica.

• business facilitation – through its network ofserviceproviders thembfzhelps investors toset up their business in Jamaica (for example,business registration), establish domesticservice contracts, banking, recruitment,build-out and telecommunications.

• bPo incubator – a fully built-out plug’n’playfacility for new investors seeking to operatewithin the industry.

ThE Bpo IncuBaTorthe free zone’s incubator is the first of its kind inthe region and it seeks to support thegrowthofsmall andmedium-sizedenterprises in thebusi-ness process outsourcing industry in Jamaica.

the turnkey facility is a modern10,000-square-foot, 200-seat plug’n’playequipped facility operated by the businessProcess industry association of Jamaica inpartnership with the montego bay free zonecompany and cable & Wireless businesssolutions. the facility was partially fundedunder the ‘competecaribbean’ initiative of theinter-american Development bank.

it provides comprehensive services fornew investors looking to start operations inJamaica and existing investors looking forshort-term solutions to meet their expansionneeds. the incubator provides furnishedspace for lease to client companies andincludes an array of services from auxiliary,security, telecoms and maintenance to othermanaged services.

opened in 2015, the contact centerincubator currently hosts three clients andemploys 130 individuals. the success of theincubator and thedemand for the solutionhasinfluenced the further expansionof a 300-seatfacility led by the montego bay free zonecompany. the facility will continue to influ-ence economic growth through maximisingthe success of new and expanding invest-ments in the industry whilst promotingemployment creation.

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