Kids Who Can’t Read Risk Philippines’ Status as Call Center Hub
The nation’s unfolding education crisis could turn its industrial aspirations into a pipe dream.
Carla Joyce Espino at her home with her child in Hagonoy, Bulacan, Philippines.
Photographer: Geric Cruz/BloombergThe Philippine call center industry is a juggernaut, employing over a million and generating billions in revenue. Its workers’ voices are a familiar sound for callers from around the world, the nation’s deep pool of English speakers underpinning the country’s rise into a global hub for customer service outsourcing.
Artificial intelligence is shaping up to be a huge disruptive force but another, more insidious problem is emerging — an education system that’s producing graduates who were never properly taught to read in the first place.