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Caribbean 'taps into' call centres | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Caribbean countries are reporting an increase in interest in their offshore service industry by large American corporations. The industry is said to bring in around two and a half billion dollars annually into the region. In the booming global services sector, enterprises such as call centres are generally referred to as offshore out-sourcing operations but in the case of the Caribbean, given its close proximity to the US mainland, they are referred to as "nearshore" services. One of those US companies which has decided to capitalise on this is the Amercian communications giant AOL. According to reports after a global search for low-cost customer service in which it looked at call centres in India and other hotspots - AOL chose St. Lucia. In doing so it joined other U.S. companies that have made the region a new global hub for call centres. Liberalisation The liberalisation of the Caribbean telecommunications sector is said to have been one of the driving forces behind the growth of the sector in the region. Industry experts say lower communication costs, workers who relate easily to American customers and the region's hospitality, are attracting American corporations, boosting the work force in the so-called nearshore service industry in the Caribbean. Other Caribbean countries tapping into - or being tapped - for the international offshore services sector for call centres are Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Dominica and the Dominican Republic. Jamaica is one of the leaders with about 14,000 employees in the sector. In the Dominican Republic, 18,000 agents, many of them bilingual, are handling calls in English and Spanish. Competition Industry analysts say the Caribbean is becoming increasingly competitive in the call centre industry, with governments offering tax and other incentives to lure companies to their shores. Some incentives include call centre «tax free zone» status that allows owners to repatriate 100 percent of their earnings tax-free. Philip Cohen, a Sweden-based offshore sector expert, says while the Caribbean has taken only a tiny share of the market, the impact could yield huge economic benefits for them. The number of people working at Caribbean call centres has increased from 11,300 in 2002 to a current total of 55,000. |
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