Philippines launches first call center that employs only blind workers

From the Manila Bulletin in the Philippines:

The country’s first call center that employs only blind persons has begun its formal operations, marking an important milestone in the struggle of disabled persons to cross the digital divide.

The call center, comprised of eight training rooms and three desks dedicated for outbound calls, is a project of the Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration, and Empowerment of the Visually Impaired (ATRIEV). It was funded mainly by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC).

The launch of the facility, located in a humble structure in the corner of E. Rodriguez and Los Angeles Streets in Cubao, Quezon City, also marked the entry of the Philippines in the select list countries that have call centers staffed fully by visually impaired agents.

India, the world’s largest BPO destination, has so far the biggest number of call centers for the blind with about 20 facilities located in the sub-continent, according to Nagraj More, a blind Indian who was a guest during the launch.

Although the Cubao center is the first of its type to hire blind employees, a number of call centers operating in the country are already employing blind agents. Call center firm TeleTech, for instance, has ten blind agents in its fold, according to company official Chito Maniago.

Taiwan-based ADOC tapped computer maker Acer for the hardware component and Taiwanese telecom operator Chungwa Telecom for the training and solutions needed to operate the unique facility.

The call center operation uses a customized outbound call center software in tandem with a refreshable Braille display as hardware. With the use of a Braille display that interacts dynamically with the computer, a totally blind person can provide customer assistance while listening to the client on the phone and reading the responses in Braille.

With the technology, the blind will hopefully gain the same speed and efficiency as the sighted call center agent, ATRIEV said.

As part of their training, six totally blind, low-vision, and sighted graduates of ATRIEV, and representatives from partner organizations, namely, the Resources for the Blind, National Council on Disability Affairs, Philippine National School for the Blind, and the Department of Education, trained as trainors in Taipei.

ATRIEV has provided IT-related training for the blind for the last 15 years, with the use of a screen reader -- software that translates text to speech -- and a screen magnification software.

The group also provides on-the-job training in voicemail transcription to its qualified IT-related training graduates, in partnership with Gallop IT Solutions, a local transcription company.

The launching ceremony, held on October 20 at ATRIEV’s Training Center for the Blind in Quezon City, was attended by ADOC officials, representatives of national government agencies, non-government organizations, and the private sector are expected to attend.