Jamaican BPO (business process outsourcing) company itel will add over 800 seats to its Jamaica and Saint Lucia destinations and generate another 1,800 CX (customer experience) jobs in the region over the next six to eight months. The company also reports that it has added clients in the form of two prominent brands in the travel and hospitality as well as banking and financial sectors, further strengthening its position as the Caribbean’s largest homegrown BPO organisation.

“The additional business in Saint Lucia led us to launch a fourth facility at the site, and itel will add about 25 per cent in Saint Lucia and 10 per cent in Jamaica,” said itel founding chairman and CEO Yoni Epstein, regarding the additional employment.

“The expansion is a further testament to the quality of service that is experienced in the LACA (Latin America & the Caribbean) region,” Epstein added. “Specifically for Saint Lucia, we are the largest employer on the south of the island and any job has a huge impact on the local economy, so imagine what 300 news jobs will mean for the economic and community impact.”

Epstein noted that the global BPO sector has faced a challenging year marked by unstable macroeconomic conditions caused by global economic uncertainty, rising geopolitical tensions, and inflationary pressures that have lowered consumer demand. He pointed out that the fears of a possible US recession and economic downturn have led to widespread layoffs in many industries, such as those in the tech sector, and stock devaluations for many publicly traded companies.

BPOs have also been subject to much speculation about the effects of artificial intelligence (AI). With the increasing adoption of AI technologies, particularly generative AI, and large language models such as ChatGPT, concerns have been expressed over potential job losses, as more tasks are assumed by automation and increasingly human-like conversational bots. Questions are being asked about how the technology will impact the outsourcing industry, and whether it will cause a whole reimagining of contact centre delivery.

The itel CEO underscored that the company has managed to secure significant business opportunities in the face of these economic challenges and industry changes.

“There is no doubt that the last two years have been unsettling for many industries and there have been a lot of changes in the global BPO space, but brands have turned their attention to the LACA region because they see the value in a skilled multilingual workforce that is closer to home where they can reap cost benefits while still offering secure infrastructure,” Epstein expressed. “We’ve just landed two major brands, one in travel and tourism and the other in banking and finance, and we’ve developed a robust pipeline that we are confident will bolster our strategic growth plan.”

Most recently, itel has attracted international recognition for its continued success and performance in growing its client and employee talent bases. The company secured the only Star Performer designation within the Aspirant category on Everest’s 2023 PEAK Matrix Assessment, a comparative analysis of top technology and CX providers. In addition, it has been named one of the Top 100 Global Outsourcers by the IAOP (International Association of Outsourcing Professionals).

In early 2024, itel will launch its newest facility in Belize where it has been testing the market for the past year.

“Client interest in new and diverse, somewhat untapped, markets, like Belize, is not waning and demonstrates their ongoing strategic interest, on which itel will continue to capitalise,” Epstein commented.