The Offshore Services Global Value Chain - Center on Globalization ...

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Offshore</strong> <strong>Services</strong> <strong>Global</strong> <strong>Value</strong> <strong>Chain</strong>: Economic Upgrading and Workforce Development
be unable to compete with countries such as India on large scale projects, they used a relatively small
number of high-quality engineers to develop expertise in specific areas of software development. <strong>The</strong>
private sector focused on improving the innovative environment for its workforce by increasing global
exposure through online forums with offices around the world, providing certification training in global
platforms and software, and offering mentorship to improve leadership and teamwork development
(Gomez et al., 2009). Furthermore, in many of the captive centers (for example, Citigroup, J.P.Morgan,
Equifax), upgrading was facilitated by transfer of knowledge through both formal and on-the-job training
carried out by employees based in the developed world and India.
Government initiatives include its eagerness to tap into the mobile, professional workforce that was
once captured by Silicon Valley. An open immigration policy has allowed for talent to move to Chile to
help bridge the gap as new skills are developed locally (Schenkel & Knezovic, 2009). In 2010, the
government created Start-Up Chile, an innovative program to attract entrepreneurs to set up IT companies
in Chile. 24 If successful, this program will help build world-class domestic IT companies that few
countries outside of India have been able to do. In addition, the offshore services industry became one of
a limited number of priority sectors for national study abroad scholarships for technical training and
internships administered by BecasChile. 25
Upgrading into KPO activities has drawn principally on the large number of graduates in business
administration and experienced professionals in the business community. As in India, private sector
training in this segment includes GSD workshops provided in-house, as well as programs focused on
leadership and management skills, with both internal and external trainers. <strong>The</strong> private sector firms that
established service export operations—such as Evalueserve, leverage their e-learning tools, such as global
teleconference calls lead by trainers based in India—and incorporate a high level of on-the-job training
and mentoring provided by experienced managers who help their trainees work through projects on a
step-by-step basis.
Stage 3. Vertical industry specialization: Mid 2000s
A third upgrading trajectory can be identified in the country’s expansion into the provision of
specialized engineering and R&D services. As offshoring of higher value services has expanded globally,
Chile has tapped into its considerable expertise developed around its key productive sectors: mining,
agriculture, forestry and aquiculture. This has been particularly successful in engineering services for the
mining industry, which accounts for one-third of the country’s offshore service exports (IDC Latin
24 <strong>The</strong> program provides 90% of start-up costs, including employee salaries, as well as providing infrastructure and logistics support for a total
of up to US$40,000 (CORFO, 2010).
25 <strong>The</strong>se scholarships are based principally on merit and career trajectories, with socioeconomic means accounting for just 10% of the
evaluative process.
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