Leading wireless services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) recently announced it was setting up the Smart Center for Resource Enhancement and Advanced Telecom Education (CREATE).

Smart CREATE is the first training institute in Asia that is dedicated to telecommunications, with the objective of developing highly skilled workers and professionals who can meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of the telco industry here and abroad.

During the unveiling of Smart CREATE, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General Augusto Boboy Syjuco presented a certificate of scholarship commitment worth R1 million to enable interested technical and vocational students to pursue courses on telecommunications in the training institute. The grant came in very significantly during the world’s celebration of the migrant workers’ day.

Smart CREATE will initially be housed at the SMART facilities in Parañaque City. Services cover people development, talent deployment and entrepreneurial empowerment.

"Smart CREATE is our response to government initiatives aimed at generating more employment opportunities here and abroad through advanced training in the telecommunications industry," said Napoleon L. Nazareno, SMART President and CEO.

"We are expanding what we are already doing at SMART so that more will benefit from the training that we usually reserve for our own employees. The high demand for our engineers overseas shows that we are on the right track as far as training and developing personnel for the telco industry ," said Annette V. Santiago, SMART human resources management and development group head and concurrent Center director.

"We are pleased with the cooperation and agreements reached with Smart CREATE. The Labor Department fully supports this model where the major industry player seeks the support of government and the academe to meet its manpower needs and requirements to give as many Filipinos a crack at more employment opportunities. After all, our job is to provide work for the most number of Filipinos," said labor and employment secretary Arturo Brion.