A total of 3,300 employees in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector have regained their jobs, which were lost as a result of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Despite this, we managed to retain more than 33,000 workers in the sector and are moving to see how best we can retrieve [the] jobs [that were lost] due to the measures imposed to curb the spread of the virus,” he said.

Vaz further pointed out that in aiding the recovery of the sector, the Government has already extended the work-from-home arrangements for approximately 40 per cent of the call centre agents for three months, which will end on August 31.

Turning to the growth trajectory for the sector, Vaz noted that pre-COVID, an increase of 5,000 to 6,000 jobs each year was predicted.

Vaz said it is anticipated that the sector will rebound by the end of the 2021 fiscal year, “with a move towards the original projection of 50,000 jobs by March 2022”.