A New Wave of Strategic Talent
The Philippines is no longer merely a cost-efficiency destination. Throughout 2026, global capability centers (GCCs) in the country are projected to employ around 289,000 professionals, up from 270,000 in 2025 across roughly 200 GCCs. This figure confirms the Philippines as the world’s second-largest GCC delivery location after India, according to Everest Group.
Increasingly Complex Migrated Functions
The most striking change lies in the type of work being moved. A decade ago, GCCs were synonymous with customer support and back-office tasks. Today, their portfolios include finance and accounting, risk management and compliance, data analytics, cybersecurity, engineering, healthcare, and digital operations. Kevin Jara of Colliers Philippines describes this shift as evidence that the Philippines “has moved beyond being a cost-effective service destination.”
Talent Gaps in AI and Machine Learning
Behind quantitative growth, a qualitative challenge emerges. A report by Colliers, IBPAP, and ZMG Ward Howell found that business analytics, machine learning, and AI roles are the hardest to fill. The candidate-to-vacancy ratio for ML and AI engineers is the lowest among all tracked functions. Around half of GCCs in the Philippines had experimented with or deployed generative AI in production by 2025, but the most realistic model is not human replacement—it is “human-plus-AI delivery.”
Implications for Corporate Location Strategy
These findings are changing parent companies’ calculations. Location decisions are no longer dominated by cost but by talent availability, office market depth, and a mature business ecosystem. Government and academia are being urged to expand training in data analytics, cybersecurity, cloud, and finance transformation so that surging demand does not stall due to skills shortages. Industry research tracked through the Colliers Philippines research portal continues to highlight these talent bottlenecks as a key variable for 2026 expansion plans.
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