“We have been seeking to fill these vacancies, which came about during
negotiations with prospective clients, but to no avail. These firms are
demanding that agents representing their brand be able to speak more than
conversational Spanish or French, but it's disappointing that our efforts to
recruit such workers locally have not worked out. We might have to look
elsewhere for individuals with the requisite skills, or risk losing these
contracts to other countries.”
Global Outsourcing CEO David Crump
commenting on the shortage of Multi-Lingual Call Center Agents that can speak
Spanish or French in Jamaica to the Jamaica Gleaner
Despite the Expansionist Ideal that I’ve alluded to about the Call Center
World, especially in the Mobay Freezone area for Bookit.com as stated in my blog article
entitled “How
to find work in Jamaica at Call Centers - Online Travel Booking Agency
Bookit.com is expanding in Jamaica with 200 plus CSA's as Online Travel Booking
Industry explodes in 2014”, things do not look so good in the Language
translation area.
According to both Global Outsourcing CEO David Crump and President of the
BPIAJ (Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica), Yoni Epstein, Jamaica
has a severe shortage of Multi-Lintual Call Center Agents as stated in the
article “Language
Barrier: Businessman Mulls Importing Multilingual Workers Because Skills Not
Here”, Published Friday January 17, 2014, The Jamaica Gleaner.
You may of course remember Global Outsourcing CEO David Crump, the man
who commented that many times he had to resort to stapling the pockets of Call
Center Agents as reported in my blog
article entitled “How
to find work in Jamaica at Call Centers - Global Outsourcing Limited CEO Devon
Crump comments indicate Paper Free Environment needed at Call Centers to
prevent Scamming and attract more BPO's”.
Apparently we’re good at English, the main reason most Call Center
Accounts are setting up shop here as concluded my blog article
entitled “Convergyns
and Aegis Communications Call Centers Coming – FDI powered Call Center
Renaissance in Jamaica thanks to our Good English”. When it comes to other Languages,
however, that’s where Jamaica’s BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) Industry is
falling behind, something that both Global Outsourcing CEO David Crump and President
of the BPIAJ (Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica), Yoni Epstein
speak about with the same Language.
So how bad is the shortage of Multi-Lingual Call Center Agents exactly?
Based on projections from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the
14,000 strong Call Center Industry is expected to grow by some 25% or roughly
3,000 persons per year to keep up with demand for Call Center Agents for the
various accounts. But if more accounts are demanding Multi-Lingual skills,
mainly conversations instead of just saying “Hello, my name is…” then we may be
looking at a loss of account, but this time to Call Centers based in Latin
America.
According to Global Outsourcing CEO David Crump, this eventual competition
from Latin America, who already speak Spanish and are now being trained to
speak English, is coming, quote: “We are falling behind the Latin American
countries, who have invested in teaching English to their labour force, and
this now gives them a huge advantage in the outsourcing market. Jamaica needs
to follow their lead and teach other Languages for more than conversation.”
Yoni Epstein sounds the Language
Training Alarm – HEART Trust/NTA to train more Cunning Linguists.
President of the BPIAJ (Business Process Industry Association of
Jamaica), Yoni Epstein is on point in agreement with the controversial Global
Outsourcing CEO. In fact, he’d pioneered the idea of Centralized Training from
the HEART Trust/NTA to supply the bulk of Trained Call Center needed for the Call
Center Industry with the necessary training in using computers as noted in my blog article
entitled “How
to find work in Jamaica at Call Centers - Global Outsourcing Limited CEO Devon
Crump comments indicate Paper Free Environment needed at Call Centers to
prevent Scamming and attract more BPO's”.
Language Training is a priority as the ability to speak other Languages
such as French and Spanish, common to the Caribbean, to quote President of the
BPIAJ (Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica), Yoni Epstein: “With
our facilities, if we can provide the required skills, it would put Jamaica at
a significant advantage”.
In fact, Yoni Epstein has requested higher level training for the Agents
leaving the HEART Trust/NTA to equip them with conversational Language skills
in Spanish and French, quote: “A reliable labour pool is crucial to attracting
ICT capital. We have been in discussion with HEART Trust/NTA to raise the
proposed Level One training (which is just for conversation) to Level Two,
which would see workers being able to engage in discussions”.
Multi-Lingual Jamaicans not
interested in low-paying Call Center work – Work at Home Translation pays more
This should have been a part of our cultural upbringing in Jamaica to
speak other Languages, a point I myself have argued, albeit not in relation to Call
Center work but rather in relation to travelling within the region and to Latin
America to get employment.
It would also help to boost our Tourism Industry, allowing us to have
more visitors for the Latin American Market, most of who go to Cuba, a country
which already has a Multi-Lingual Tourism Sector. Were the US Embargo to be
lifted anytime this year, Jamaica would be in serious trouble as they would put
up effective competition against our half-baked Bob Marley themed tourist
product.
On the flip side of this argument, as local Call Centers may be finding
it difficult to get Multi-Lingual Agents, it may really be the case that they
may not want that type of work as its low paying. Truth be told, working online
for yourself, as described in my blog article entitled “How Jamaicans can Legally
make US Dollars as Freelance worker Online - Jamaican Flexworking to make money
from the Internet”, you may be able to make as much as US$100 per translation of
Documents from English, Spanish or French to other Languages.
This is not even mentioning working in Embassies or Consulates where the
pay is significantly higher. To this end, I think it may be more of an issue of
pay and work conditions, as most Jamaicans in such Call Centers speak only
English. Thus being Multi-Lingual in a country that doesn’t encourage you to
speak other Languages and where the only persons that may speak another Language
may be your expatriate parents or a few friends with a similar passion for the Languages
may be an alienating experience.
This has resulted in many Multi-Lingual friends I know quitting and thus
defecting to higher paying Foreign Consulate and Embassy jobs; no point in
having such a in-demand skill that’s not appreciated and yet being underpaid!
As a Multi-lingual, you can earn more money as a Freelance Online Translator
at websites such as RealTranslatorJobs.
You get paid as much as US100 to translate documents and US$35 to translate
emails. Even better, the lowest you can get paid as a Translator is US$50 to
translate documents! To start only requires US$34 to get access to the website.
Additionally you can also advertise your skills in The Jamaica Gleaner Sunday Classifieds in
the “Employment Wanted” Section as pointed out in my blog article
entitled “How
to find work in Jamaica at Call Centers - While Moonlighting on a Call Center
Salary Jamaican Jobs listed Online so you can Hunt for your Dream Job” or “How
to find work in Jamaica at Call Centers - Job Agencies, Applications with
Proposals and Reading the Sunday Gleaner for Fast and the Furious 6 Tips and
Tricks”; you’re bound to get calls if you have such a rare skill!
CEO David Crump isn’t telling
the full truth – Make more money as a Written or spoken Translator online
Global Outsourcing CEO David Crump thus has a bigger problem. Even if he
finds Multi-Lingual Call Center Agents, Language coaches and Managers, given
our Jamaican culture lack of interest in learning other Languages, CSA’s coming
from abroad to work on contract here in Jamaica may find the work conditions
inhospitable. Jamaicans are very English and aren’t into the idea of even
learning another Language unless it has something to do with money!
To this end, training Jamaicans to speak these foreign Languages is the
best long-term solution, as the short term solution will be either be very
expensive to pay foreigners or these very same foreigners with their Multi-Lingual
skills coming from abroad will run away within weeks after coming to the
beautiful island of Jamaica. This as they too will realize that better money is
to be had working for Embassies and Consulates in Jamaica or even working for RealTranslatorJobs, once you can
pay the US$34 fee.
To my fellow Multi-Linguals, Happy Trails online as you discover that yet
again, CEO David Crump isn’t telling the full truth as was the case with the
Stapling of CSA’s pockets as reported in my blog article
entitled “How
to find work in Jamaica at Call Centers - Global Outsourcing Limited CEO Devon
Crump comments indicate Paper Free Environment needed at Call Centers to
prevent Scamming and attract more BPO's”. After all, if he was honest, why didn’t he
mention these facts relating to making money online as a Freelance Online
Translator?
To make money as a spoken or written Online Translator from the comfort
of your home, get the necessary online accounts as noted in my blog article
entitled “How
to receive Payments online and spend it here in Jamaica - If it doesn't make
spendable cash it doesn't make sense to Work online or do E-Commerce”.
You may also need some Online Translator Software as well, which you can
find by using Google and downloading using Kickasstorrents
as described in my blog article
entitled “How
to download High Quality Music via torrenting - The Mortal Instruments City of
Bones used to get Free Music”.
Visit this website, pay with your Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit
Card and access its many services and comment on my page or email me
as to how it works out:
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