Has the economic recession helped or hurt Latin America, in terms of levelling the outsourcing playing field?
Opertti: There are mixed effects of the recession. On the one hand, the slowdown of the US economy has hurt private sector companies. Since they are the main buyers of outsourced services, that definitely had a negative effect on the outsourcing market, both in Latin America and globally. On the more positive side, as companies in the US are being forced to adjust costs, they have been seeking new destinations that offer services at low costs in sectors not just limited to F&A, technology or BPO as has traditionally been the case, but in more value added services like KPO, software development and engineering. This is where Latin America is really gaining ground today. The biggest challenge for the region is bilingual capability, and how to increase the number of English proficient workers. We’re seeing many out-of-the-box initiatives in the region to tackle that problem such as Chile’s National Registry of English Speakers, and Colombia’s Talk to the World program. Can you comment on
