Pacific ready for IT offshoring

PACIFIC – A new World Bank report says more jobs could be created in the Pacific through IT-enabled outsourcing industries.

The ICT for Jobs in the Pacific study released this week found that 10 to 20 thousand jobs could be created across Fiji, Samoa and Tonga which represents about three percent of GDP in these countries.

All three countries, which represent the first phase in a broader Pacific review, have been found to have significant competitive advantages, including a young qualified labour market, rapidly improving internet infrastructure and strong political support.

Of the three, Fiji is already showing signs of realising its potential with over 1000 jobs created in offshoring operations, along with winning an award that noted its service to its clients in Europe.

More and more international companies are outsourcing their IT and business processes and taking them offshore, including customer and accounting services, data entry, programming and web design.

Outsourcing services represent an estimated US$952 billion per year globally, with ICT for Jobs in the Pacific highlighting Australia and New Zealand as two potential ‘nearshoring’ markets for the Pacific – worth an estimated US$31 billion per year. - RNZI