By Kris M. Crismundo
MANILA, (PNA) – A total of 47,445 jobs in the Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry were generated as an offshoot of the training partnership of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) which was funded by the national government through the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).
This was disclosed by Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), formerly BPAP, President and CEO Jose Mari Mercado Monday in an interview during the 5th International Outsourcing Summit (IOS) in Makati City.
Mercado confirmed the partnership of BPAP with TESDA for a training program to further enhance the workforce in the IT-BPM industry.
”This is the industry training for work scholarship program. The fund that was provided to the industry generated 47,445 jobs,” he said.
”The role of TESDA is to provide short range training to bridge talent gaps and skills gaps that exist from our graduates and being able to get or make it to the corporate world,” said Mercado noting that the beneficiaries of the scholarship program were already hired or near-hire applicants.
“IBPAP basically served as a venue to help manage and to make this work,” he added.
Likewise, IBPAP Senior Executive Director Gillian Virata said the training program of TESDA and BPAP, which was known as Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP), was a “very effective program to improve chances of getting position in the (IT-BPM) industry.”
Virata noted that the funding for the TWSP came from the P500 million allocation to the IT-BPM industry announced by President Benigno Aquino III when he was the key note speaker during the IOS in October 12, 2011.
On the same date, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in a press release said “the Aquino government would implement P72.11 billion in additional projects in order to fast-track disbursements and push economic growth.”
The P72.11 billion which referred to the DAP allocation included funding in human resource development for Business Process Outsourcing and other industries.
”As the government, through TESDA and other agencies, partner with industry groups like the Business Process Association of the Philippines for human resource development, the government will provide P1.1 billion for the training of applicants, faculty-trainers and other activities,” the DBM press release said.
DBM told Philippine News Agency in a text message today that the P500 million fund for the TWSP is part of the P1.1 billion DAP for human resource development in 2011.
Further, Virata mentioned that the P500 million budget for the training program in 2011 to 2012 was the largest fund compared to the past administration.
”(The) allocation of Aquino administration is the biggest,” said Virata.
Both Mercado and Virata clarified that the P500 million fund announced by Aquino did not go directly to the association but it was through TESDA.
Moreover, the TWSP had benefitted 65,000 trainees with nearly 50,000 trainees passing the training program collaborated by TESDA and BPAP.
Virata said the program had run for 15 months with trainees mostly employed in contact centers, software programming, and animation, among others.
”We have all their names, we are COA (Commission on Audit) compliant and we have tracked everything completely and we need to make sure that were spending government money, correctly,” Mercado added.
On the other hand, Mercado said the training is a nationwide program.
”It also includes training institution accredited by TESDA so this is a nationwide effort that we did. It was not just here in Metro Manila because we work with National ICT Confederation of the Philippines,” he said.
Meanwhile, the two executives from the IT-BPM industry look forward that the government can continue to fund training programs which are beneficial to the additional quality supply of workforce in the country.