Despite this bleak picture he painted, the country is slowly making progress.  We are on the road to having ICT certified staff and IT education is definitely improving as seen in the initiatives of IT schools in the country, notably that of Informatics International College (IIC).

Informatics inaugurated its newest campus, which was patterned after the IIC campus in Singapore, at Eastwood City Cyberpark in Libis last May 10 and officially opens today to mark the beginning of a new term.  The new campus can accommodate a thousand students and boasts of modern amenities and facilities.  Charlyne Santos-Ebetuer, IIC Assistant Vice-President for Higher Education, said "Most of our computers run on Pentium 4…[and] also planning to provide wi-fi Internet access so even visitors and guests can access the Internet anytime".

The unveiling ceremony was led by no less than Leo Riingen, Informatics President and CEO assisted by Kevin Tan, Vice-President for Commercial Services of Eastwood City, who also presented the land development perspective of the campus.

Award-winning members of the Informatics family were recognized.  They were: Francis Lloren for being the Philippines' fastest geek; Owen Tolentino for being the Philippine National Skills champion for AutoCADD; and David Ongchoco for being the Franchisee of the year.

Mitch Locsin, Executive Director of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P), gave a backgrounder on the current state of the Philippine call center industry.  Ann Recinto, Senior Marketing Manager of Informatics responded with a presentation on the school's call center training program.

A unique feature of the Informatics curriculum is that all its programs are based on a British education system of ladderized programs that allow a student to receive a certificate of completion after successfully finishing just a year of study.  These diploma courses on Computer Studies, Business Management with IT focus, and Information Technology give the students the opportunity to land a job after two years of study.  Students also have the option to continue pursuing a baccalaureate degree while working.

The college recently added higher education courses to include computer technology, computerized accounting, office management, and customer relations.  They also offer courses for working professionals who want to enhance their skills.

IIC had earlier opened a new campus at the Northgate Cyberzone in Alabang to promote academe-industry integration thereby helping the school more attuned to industry requirements.

Informatics is also actively involved in certifying IT professionals in the country working with various sectors of the industry to come up with standards.  The recognition TESDA and CHED has extended to Informatics is proof of the quality of its IT education. 

Maybe with these developments in IT education in the country, that US-based Filipino blogger can be assured that the next time he comes across a resume of a Filipino applicant, that applicant will have been equipped with the relevant skills.

(For feedback, comments, suggestions email me at openingpagemb@yahoo.com)