An official of the Information Communication Technology-Davao (ICT-Davao) announced on Thursday they will be working towards achieving the target of 150,000 workforce by 2028.
ICT-Davao will be working towards the target along with its partners in the Davao Region.
Xavier Eric Manalastas, president of ICT-Davao and CEO/founder of NEXT BPO Solutions, told media that with the current roadmap being set by the Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) Association of the Philippines, which is to grow the number of workers and employees in the industry in the Philippines to 2.5 million by 2028, ICT-Davao and its partners agreed that its contribution towards that goal is to also grow the number of workers in Davao Region in the IT-BPM industry from the current estimate of 75,000 workers to 150,000 by the end of 2028.
Manalastas said ICT-Davao is working with universities, higher education institutions and colleges in the Davao Region to achieve the goal.
“The 150,000 will not be filled up or can be achieved in Davao City alone but throughout Davao Region. We are currently working with different agencies in the government and we are also working closely, as mentioned the challenge is talent, so we are closely working with the universities, higher education institutions and state colleges. The goal is to align with them on the courses that they are offering and the curriculum they are offering to make sure that when the students’ graduate is aligned and will be hired right away and that they will be updated with the technology,” Manalastas said during Wednesdays Habi at Kape media forum at Abreeza Mall on Thursday.
He also said that ICT-Davao is also working closely with the Technical Education And Skills Development Authority (TESDA) with the creation of Metro Davao ICT Industry Board using the program of TESDA, Tulong Trabaho Scholarship Program (TTSP).
“We hope to be able to train more unemployed or employed or underemployed in the Davao Region for them to get the skills they need or to upskill and to be absorbed in the industry to fill the gap on the skills. Hopefully by 2028 we will have 150,000 employees already working in the industry,” he said.
He also mentioned that two companies opened lately in the Davao Region and another company is coming this year. He said these three companies alone will translate to around 3,000 to 4,000 jobs already.
“The IT-BPM industry is one of those that was badly affected by the pandemic and in line also with the opening of the economy we have already experienced growth also and we are among the most resilient industry and we have experienced growth with the opening of the economy,” he said.
