MANILA, Philippines -- At Excel Asia, students brushing up on their English skills are coached not by duly trained language teachers but by theater actors and former television personalities.

The style may deviate from formal call center training schools but Rita Trillo-Ugarte, Excel Asia's founder and president, said her trainer's passion rubs off on the students in a good way, increasing their chances of getting into call centers.

Excel Asia belongs to an emerging crop of "finishing" schools that either train students looking to apply as call center agents or train "near-hires" or those who did not pass applications and looking to give it another crack but would want to improve their language skills.

Ugarte started Excel Asia two years ago in Cebu City and has expanded the business in Metro Manila, opening up its own training facilities.

"Our trainers are not veterans of call centers but stage actors and band members," said Ugarte, herself an industry veteran working for operators ePerformax and SourceOne before putting up Excel Asia.

"When a student walks into class and see our trainers, they already feel inspired by the personalities they see. It helps that our trainers look and speak American because of their heritage but are Filipinos at heart," she said.

Ugarte herself designed the two-week training course, which involves a lot of impromptu role-playing games.

"Most of it involves teamwork and getting students to go onstage," she said, giving credit to her years of experience as a pre-school teacher.

"We try not to teach only English and grammar, but building enough confidence in the student in answering calls. But we do have an English-speaking only policy and we have kicked out people accordingly. We also instill discipline and respect for superiors, which is an ideal scenario in call centers."

Excel Asia also provides similar services to call center operators that regularly send their agents for further training. But outside of corporate training, Ugarte said the company trains new graduates for free which makes for a pool of skilled people awaiting deployment.

The industry has no fixed hiring season, according to Ugarte, but rather depends on operators ramping up their workforce depending on the demand. Excel Asia also trains "near-hires" courtesy of scholarship vouchers from the government.

The company provides agents for around 40 regular customers. Ugarte attributes the company's success to her trainers' passion for helping students get jobs.

"They have genuine care for the students and feel disappointed themselves when some do not pass their applications. They even give students enough fare just so they can continue with their training," she said.