Transparent BPO, which has established a call centre on property adjoining GC Foster College of Physical Education & Sport, announced this week that it is also supporting the school’s development programme with a cash grant.

The college will be using a $1.5-million donation from Transparent BPO to improve its high-performance centre and its sports injury rehabilitation programme, it has been said.

Kevin Lightfood, spokesperson for Transparent BPO, said the entity, which is working closely with GC Foster College, announced plans to transform an adjacent building and property “into a world-class contact centre facility that would employ thousands of Jamaicans, providing career opportunities and professional training in their local communities and close to home”.

Lightfood said in the company release, “One of the company’s core values is to operate in communities where we can make a positive impact. One of the reasons we selected Angels to open our newest facility is because we can make an impact for the community, for employees and for the country as a whole. We try to work in areas that allow our employees to work in a successful thriving environment that allows them to accomplish their goals as well.”

He added, “This donation reflects our core value to work with local organisations that have a direct and meaningful impact on the local community and GC Foster has an accomplished history of supporting young Jamaicans.”

Paul Beckford, vice-principal with responsibility for administration at GC Foster College, said that the donation would boost the college’s ability “to attract the best athletes from throughout the Caribbean. This gift will ensure our student-athletes receive quality care and assist the college in extending educational opportunities to promising athletes who want to blend education and athletics to advance their careers.”

In December 2021, Transparent BPO announced it was expanding its operations to Jamaica with a new 108,000 sq ft facility that could employ more than 2,000 Jamaicans to support its rapid growth in offering BPO services to US-based companies.

The company currently has contact centre capabilities in Belize and the Philippines. While renovation and expansion of a former textile mill continues, the company formerly began serving US-based clients on June 6.

Jonathan Hummel, VP of operations in Jamaica, commented, “We’re recruiting for a wide range of positions and finding a deep pool of candidates to staff our expanding presence here,” he said. “We’ll be aggressively hiring until we are fully staffed later this year or early in 2023.”

Labour pool in Angels

Lightfoot said in the company release, “When selecting to build in Angels, Transparent BPO’s labour market research found a deep bench of experienced contact centre agents living in Angels or adjacent communities. Labour surveys indicate thousands of Jamaicans work in the BPO sector and commute several hours daily to and from Kingston or Portmore. The company was also attracted to the area because of the opportunity to partner with the top physical education and sports institution in the Caribbean. GC Foster College’s amenities such as pool, gym and track, makes the new location attractive to potential employees.”

Lightfoot said that working with the college and local organszations is a core tenet of Transparent BPO’s values to build long-term relationships in the communities where the company operates. Transparent BPO is working closely with the property’s landlord, MJS, to coordinate the site’s transformation. While Transparent BPO is building the facility’s internal contact centre capability, MJS is rehabilitating the structure, including the structure’s exterior, parking lot and grounds.

Strategically located beside the college and close to a local technical high school and six secondary high schools, the new Angels facility will also offer career development and training to Jamaicans through what it said was the Transparent BPO University.

Lightfoot outlined, “This first-of-its-kind learning tool provides employees the opportunity to develop professional skills and advance their careers using a self-guided, university approach to learning.”

Transparent BPO provides contact centre support, client acquisition and retention, technical support and data entry services for small, medium and Fortune 500 companies.