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A strong public and private partnership is crucial in harnessing the opportunities brought about by the effective use of ICT. This is the key message delivered by Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) in his speech at the recently concluded 12th ICT Professionals' Congress.
Organized by the Philippine Computer Society (PCS), the congress has once more successfully brought together stakeholders in the industry in the sectors of government, industry and the academe.
Chua stressed, "CICT has always been supportive of the PCS. After all, both institutions have a mutual goal of enriching the ICT profession to realize an ICT-enabled Philippines."
With human capital development as one of the most critical elements of the national ICT agenda, Chua said that, it is, similarly, one of the CICT's strategic initiatives in the Philippine ICT Roadmap.
"Our focus is on transforming the Filipino human capital into a knowledge workforce, and creating employment opportunities for better economic and social well-being of Filipinos," Chua said.
In this line, Chua reported that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has allocated substantial funds for a scholarship program intended for the ICT professionals.
A collaborative effort of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Business Processing Association of the Philippines, the "PGMA Training for Work Scholarship Program" has been given Php350 million funding to train human resource for the offshoring and outsourcing (O&O) sector. Over 40,000 potential recruits will be benefited through training programs that will help them qualify to work in the O&O sector, a key component of the ICT industry.
"This will help us attain our vision of employing close to one million Filipinos, while generating up to US$13 billion in revenues and capturing 10 percent of the global O&O market by 2010. We at the CICT believe that through this sterling example of public-private partnership, our lofty objectives are within our reach," said Chua.
The CICT, through CICT's Human Capital Development Group, or HCDG, also helps uplift Filipino ICT competitiveness by integrating ICT in education through the eQuality Program for State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), and the iSchools and the eSkwela Projects.
Furthermore, the CICT supports the industry's goal of professionalizing ICT practice. "Filipino ICT practitioners should seize opportunities to build up skills by availing the certification programs currently available from the CICT through its component agency, the National Computer Center. Anchored on international standards, these certification programs will impart competencies necessary for mobility in the local and global ICT markets," Chua explained.
The CICT offers three major ICT Certification Programs. The International Computer Driving License (ICDL) is a world renowned end-user computer skills certification program which assesses an individual's competency level in the use of personal computers. The ICDL modules include basic concepts of IT such as using PCs and managing files, word processing, spreadsheets, databases, presentation, Internet and email.
Secondly, the IT Proficiency Exam administered in coordination with the Civil Service Commission (CSC) consists of the Annual ICT (EDP) Proficiency Tests for Computer Programming and Systems Analysis and Design. Passers are issued a certificate of proficiency which will serve as basis for granting appropriate ICT (EDP) Specialist Eligibility by the CSC.
Finally, the National ICT Competency Standards (NICS) Test specifies and defines the most basic set of competencies all non-professional or professional Filipino ICT practitioners in various organizations, industries and sectors should be able to demonstrate at given levels of proficiency.
Chua concludes, "Government is doing its best to implement the national ICT agenda. Nonetheless, strong public-private partnerships continue to be an indispensable strategy in maintaining the country's competitive edge in the global ICT scene. Events such as this ICT Professionals' Congress not only enhance Filipino expertise but also exemplify the importance of collaboration. Rest assured that government is one with the private sector in addressing the need to continually enhance the knowledge and skills of our students and ICT professionals which are key to addressing the new challenges of the information age."
-- Tech Times Online
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