A memorandum of understanding among the Department of Education (DepEd), Ministry of Education of Spain, Cervantes Institute, and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID) is expected to boost the chances of Filipinos landing a job in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector as the agreement will strengthen the reintroduction of Spanish language in public secondary schools.

DepEd Secretary Jesli A. Lapus said that aside from its direct link to the country’s cultural heritage, learning Spanish in the 21st century can be a very potent tool for the Filipinos to compete in the global job market.

Recently, some 21 Spanish-speaking countries with economic activities worth US$4 trillion await the services of the Business Process Outsourcing sectors which demand call center agents that speak Spanish.

“The relearning of Spanish language in our country also allows us to have better ties, including economic ties, with all Spanish speaking nations in the world,” he added.

Lapus said that the agreement will push for the advancement of the quality of teaching and the promotion of Spanish language and culture in the education system of the Philippines.

Memorandum Order No. 276 signed by President Arroyo in 2007 directs the DepEd, CHED, and TESDA to encourage the teaching and learning of Spanish throughout the country.

The agreement was signed by Secretary Lapus and Jose Manuel Martinez Sierra, Director General of Ministry Education Affairs, Carlos Elberdi, Director of AECID, and Carmen Caffarel, Director of Cervantes Institute in Barcelona, Spain.

The support of the Spanish government in the teaching of Spanish language will be implemented in two phases, from 2009-2010 to 2013-2014 school years.

The pilot phase which started in June 2009 reintroduced the Spanish language in 15 secondary schools around the Philippines.

A total of 35 teachers were trained and some 1,000 students benefited from this program.

The expansion phase will cover 50 more schools, 100 teachers, and an estimated 8,000 students per school year from 2010 to 2011, and 2011 to 2012.