Gunter Kuhn Marketing Manager at German BPO Pixel Faerie believes the World Cup is the ideal platform to showcase South Africa and more specifically Cape Town as a world class business destination.
Pixel Faerie a 70 seater Cape Town based BPO operation provides back office support services to the European market, with a strong focus on desktop publishing.
“To date 2010 has been an excellent year for the business with substantial foreign investment coming into our operation. We expect this to continue on the back of the World Cup which will provide exposure to the country at a level never seen before,” says Kuhn.
“A trend has developed where foreign nationals from across the globe come to South Africa on a holiday visa and once here decide to work full time. With the World Cup on the horizon, I suspect this will continue, leading to more investment and ultimately employment opportunities for South Africans,” adds Kuhn.
Kuhn believes that South Africa is well positioned to grow even further as a BPO destination especially with India expecting to see a 40% rise in costs over the next five years.
“With South Africa under the spotlight it is important to continue to look at BPO opportunities across Europe and not only in the UK. Lufthansa and now Pixel Faerie have shown that the demand is there from Germany. We need to build on these foundations and attract more foreign investment out of Europe, showcasing South Africa as a high quality alternative to India and the Philippines,” says Fagri Semaar interim CEO of BPeSA Western Cape.
It is widely accepted that South Africa currently has a shortage of computer based skills. “As a foreign business it is important that we help fill this gap by upskilling individuals”, says Kuhn.
“We are committed to employing individuals from previously disadvantaged backgrounds and providing ongoing internal training to ensure they are up to speed with the relevant programmes.”
Pixel Faerie is currently looking for skilled staff with good computer knowledge. If you are interested in a client facing role that requires good command of English, German, French or Dutch, or alternatively would like to work in the back office on desktop publishing, please contact Gunter Kuhn kuhn.gunter@pixelfaerie.com.
