The number of people employed in Bulgaria's outsourcing industry is expected to increase three times to more than 45,000 by 2017, the head of the newly-established Bulgarian Association Outsourcing (BAO) said.
BAО is the first Bulgarian business association in knowledge economy outsourcing, which includes business and IT processes and processes related to information and human resources management analysis and processing. Its founders are AII Data Processing, Atos Bulgaria, Bulpros, Coca-Cola Hellenic IT Services and Sofica Group.
The number of Bulgarians employed in the country's outsourcing industry rose by 11% in 2011, compared to an annual increase of about 20% in the years before the crisis, BAО chairman Stefan Bumov said during a news briefing.
Between 12,000 and 15,000 people are currently employed in the sector, according to global research firm McKinsey&Company data cited by BAO.
McKinsey&Company projects that over the next five years Bulgaria's outsourcing industry will see double-digit growth and the country will enter the list of the world's 10 most attractive destinations for outsourcing.
As many as 12% of Bulgarian university graduates, who number about 65,000 annually, have the potential to work in the outsourcing industry if they undergo further training, which is why the Association intends to become actively engaged in work with the academic community.