John Clements Opens Cebu Office
By Paul Catiang

In November 2007, John Clements set up an office in Cebu, with the impetus of following clients wherever they are. “We have a large MNC bank who has expanded in Cebu, as well as a new BPO player which is one of the largest IT companies in the world,” says Carol Dominguez, President and CEO of John Clements. “Our office in Cebu will offer the same services as in Manila notable recruitment at various levels—executive and managerial levels, as well as large-scale staffing, outsourcing and temporary staffing, and international recruitment through EDI-Staffbuilders International.”

Cebu City is host to several Information and Communications Technology firms, such as Accenture, Convergys, Intel Microelectronics, Microsoft Philippines, Sun Microsystems Philippines, among others. “Personally, I think the Cebu is really potent in terms of talent because it draws on neighboring provinces and cities like Bacolod, Iloilo, Dumaguete and Bohol as well as the island of Mindanao,” continues  Carol. “Based on our research, the capacity utilization of Cebu is at 32 percent with current BPO workers at 15,000 at its capacity at 50,000 workers. Our research also ranked potential BPO locations in terms of their attractiveness and Cebu was rated number one with a score of 82.”

The city also produces some of the most promising talent pools in the country, as it is home to some of the top schools in the Philippines, namely San Carlos University, the University of the Philippines-Cebu and the Cebu Institute of Medicine. In addition, 22,000 students graduate annually in Cebu. Neighboring province Iloilo has top universities which include UP-Visayas, Central Philippine University, Saint Paul University, and Ateneo de Iloilo, and has over 17,000 graduates annually. In the island of Minadanao, Davao has top schools like Ateneo de Davao, University of Mindanao and UP-Mindanao while Cagayan de Ora has Xavier University and both provinces produce almost 25,000 graduates annually.

Opening an office in Cebu not only means that John Clements can make its services available to its clients there, but also to tap into the local talent pools found there. “We are very excited about this new endeavor and hope to be able to help our partners grow in this part of the country,” Carol concludes.