With our tertiary-educated labour pool and a workforce skilled in customer service, Saint Lucia is a leading competitor for business or knowledge process outsourcing (BPO/KPO) investments in the Caribbean region. The sector has seen impressive growth since the early 2000s, when expansion came along with the dawn of new reliable technology and infrastructure, a reputable legal and regulatory framework, a stable macroeconomic environment, and business reforms introduced in the 1990s.
Saint Lucia represents a strong contender in the BPO market, with over 3,000 people employed in the sector, and there is potential to double its size. In addition, the island has an enviable reputation because while the wider region enjoys BPO success due to its proximity to the United States, Saint Lucia offers project-ready locations, more reliable technology, human resource capability, and a warm, clear Caribbean accent.
The telecommunications infrastructure has continuously developed and become more reliable, with healthy competition between service providers and an assured regulator, the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, overseeing the sector. Invest Saint Lucia is one of the few investment promotion agencies in the Caribbean, with factory shell space to accommodate large-scale investments at competitive rents.
In 2019, the BPO/KPO industry accounted for 20% of new jobs in the country and following the onset of COVID-19, the sector became the fastest growing in Saint Lucia. As a result, the Government of Saint Lucia and the local workforce have appropriately repositioned through additional training, education and policy to accommodate this ongoing expansion and ensure the sustainability of BPO and KPO investments on the island.
