Minister Francis Fonseca Fully Supports Industry Shift From BPO to Global Digital Services

Minister of Foreign Affairs Francis Fonseca says he fully supports the efforts being made to transition Belize’s BPO sector into the Global Digital Services (GDS) sector. With the looming policy changes in the United States via the “Keep Call Centers in America Act”, the Government of Belize has begun accelerating the transition to GDS to keep the sector viable. This includes the drafting of a Global Digital Services Investment Policy and the Upskilling the Workforce project, aimed at delivering capacity-building training to BPO professionals. Fonseca says that with thousands of jobs on the line, the sector must be able to adapt.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Trade: “I think we have to be concerned about it. I think we have to be not scared but we have to be prepared because things are changing, things are changing. There was a lot of talk for the last year or two about Ai overtaking that industry. So that was the talk oh we have to prepare for Ai and we certainly have to do that, that’s still a very serious threat to that industry. But of course now there seems to be bipartisan support for this Keep Call Centers in America Bill. So we have to be looking at it. We have to be prepared for it. I know we have discussed it within the government and I know that the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Finance has met with the sector. They’re having discussions talking to them about how we can work together to prepare for any changes that might come. Obviously this has been an industry that has grown tremendously over the past five years or so. We’re up now to 18,000 people employed in that sector so it’s a critically important sector for our economy and it’s one that we want to keep strong so we have to be on top of this issue and I hope that we can find out more about the bill and make sure that our people are prepared to address any issues that arrive. But it’s not a castle in the sand. It’s an evolving industry so it’s changing like any other industry and you have to adapt. You have to change, you have to adapt along with it. So we have a very competent team that’s looking at this issue. I know Minister Chris Coye works very closely with the BPO sector so I’m confident that they’re on top of it. They’re working with them to see what can be done to make the necessary adjustment to ensure that that sector continues to thrive and grow and be an integral part of the Belizean economy. So I think the BPO sector is here to stay but it will have to change and adapt to the changing circumstances.”

The Upskilling the Workforce project will see its first cohort of BPO professionals begin training before the end of the year.