Biz group to upskill 1M Filipinos under 5-year program

MANILA – The Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) is launching a five-year program that targets to expand the skills of one million Filipinos.

In a statement Wednesday, IBPAP said the program will offer near-hire training grants, upskilling vouchers, scholarships and immersions, student grants, and tertiary education subsidies for individuals.

The business group will also launch a “train-the-trainer” program, a massive open online courses for teachers, as well as boot camps and teaching opportunities for industry veterans.

“Though efforts around capacity building had already been a priority for the industry, the pandemic has accelerated the shift to more digital solutions,” IBPAP president and chief executive officer Rey Untal said.

“In this light, developing pre- and in-workforce through a strategic, scalable, and sustainable talent attraction and development initiative has become even more critical for the sector’s continued growth and expansion,” Untal added.

The IBPAP is launching the pilot project this year in cooperation with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), and its partner associations.

The group eyes to upskill 1,000 full-time employees by end-2020.

IBPAP vice chair Ayhee Campos said it is imperative for the sector to remain agile amid a changing IT-BPM landscape while the demand for the group’s services continues to come in.

“Our focus at the moment is to keep partnering with the industry, academe, and government to drive curriculum enhancement and initiate a mindset pivot to ensure the Filipino workforce is ready to answer the growing and shifting needs of the global marketplace,” Campos said.

The IBPAP is also partnering with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority for the upskilling and retooling program.

The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed the industry to embrace innovations.

By 2022, IBPAP forecasts 73 percent or 1.15 million of its workforce will move up to mid- to high-skill jobs. This has increased from 54 percent of the industry’s total workforce in 2016.