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Press Release
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Tuesday, 06 May 2008 |
(Published People's Journal and People's Journal Tonight (Apr 27) and The Philippine Star (Apr 28)
The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. Largely comprising the ICT and ICT-enabled businesses, the outsourcing and offshoring (O&O) industry alone piped in US$4.8 billion to the Philippine economy based on the Business Processing Association Philippines data. This is both owing to the country’s modern telecom infrastructure as well as the abundance of world-class Filipino talent. Indeed, one major factor in the growth of the sector is what industry insiders call “peopleware” – or the human component of the industry. More than hardware and software, peopleware completes the equation, which spells the success of ICT and ICT-enabled enterprises in the country. The Philippines has continuously attracted global investors in the industry attributed to a large extent to the competency of Filipino ICT professionals. According to Jayjay Viray, general manager of JobsDB.com, an online Human Resources firm, “We have the skills needed by the ICT sector plus the good-natured attitude towards work.” She explained that Filipinos know how to multi-task and do other jobs related to their work. The country continues to produce the brainpower needed by the sector. About 10 percent of the 350, 000 college graduates in the Philippines per annum have degrees that are related to the ICT sector, according to the Philippine Strategic Roadmap for the ICT Sector. However, a study made by the Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (ITECC) revealed that there is a “lack of well-trained and competent trainers and educators in ICT and ICT-related subjects has contributed to the declining quality of education and of the country’s ICT and knowledge workers.” Viray shared the same sentiment. “We have an oversupply of IT graduates, but we have an undersupply of quality IT graduates,” she said. “You’re not an IT if you only know how to encode,” she adds. While Viray laments that some IT graduates have no in-depth knowledge of basic principles of programming, for example, she is happy that some IT companies have partnered with IT schools to provide training and education. One sector of the ICT industry that Viray hopes to see more Filipinos going into is software development. While there are many local (software) developers, their exposure to developing software is only bits and pieces of programs. “They’re in a box,” Viray says. “How I wish we could develop something of bigger impact like Linux or Red Hat,” she added. Peopleware will be one of the topics that will be discussed in the forthcoming 12th ICT Professionals’ Congress, which is being organized by the Philippine Computer Society (PCS) and sponsored by JobsDB.com, Microsoft, Globe, Oracle, IBM and e-PLDT. The PCS, founded in 1967, is the premiere organization of 700 ICT practitioners in the country. It strives to continuously promote, protect and enhance the members of the ICT profession through its local and international activities. Viray shares, “I'm an avid supporter of the ICT Congress and its efforts and goals. I like the objectives of this congress. This year, it will cover the sectors that I believe are very important – education, business, and economy. And one does not even have to be an ICT professional to be a part of it. Everyone stands to learn something from the good lineup of topics in the two-day conference.” For more information on peopleware and other topics, register now for the Philippine Computer Society’s 12th ICT Professionals’ Congress on May 14 and 15, 2008, to be held at the Hotel Intercontinental Manila, Makati City. For more details, please visit www.pcs-it.org or call 840-0985 to 86 or e-mail
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 06 May 2008 )
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ICT Confab to focus on Education, Business, Economy |
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Tuesday, 22 April 2008 |
(Published in: Manila Times (Apr 12); Manila Bulletin & People's Tonight (Apr 13); Businessworld (Apr 16); Manila Standard (Apr Apr 17) and People's Journal (Apr 20) Information and communication technologies (ICT) can be used in a multitude of ways to improve Philippine education, business and economy. But with so many products and services being offered out there, how and which technologies should we maximize to our full advantage? How do we keep up with all the technological advances? Answers to these and other key information can be obtained at this year's ICT Professionals’ Congress (ICTPC) being organized by leading industry organization, the Philippine Computer Society (PCS). The ICTPC will focus on how ICT can “Enable the Education,” “Empower the Business,” and “Enrich the Economy,” and will serve as a venue for exploring new technologies, establishing new contacts, and reviewing trends and issues related to the effective integration of ICT covering the Soft Skills, Applications and Infrastructure. Slated on May 14-15, 2008 at the Hotel Intercontinental Manila, Makati City, with guest speakers Commission on Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III, Ayala Foundation EVP Guillermo “Bill” Luz and Commission on Higher Education Commissioner Nona Ricafort, the conference will comprise plenary sessions and regular sessions on Education, Business and Economy. The conference will likewise feature corporate and product exhibits from event sponsors. The ICT forum is attended yearly by government officials, businessmen and ICT professionals from the academe and industry. According to PCS President Peter D. Que, Jr., “For this year's conference, PCS has given equal emphasis on the hardware, software as well as the peopleware aspects of technology. We will be discussing how to build a high performance group, raise ICT competencies to that of international levels, and choose career paths within the ICT profession to avoid being redundant. This is in recognition of the importance of human resources in enabling optimum results from the new as well as old technologies.” Que added, “We have also incorporated topics aimed at helping companies, especially the SMEs, in choosing the right technology to invest in, and how to manage the ICT budget. And, also, we will help participants be updated on latest trends on wireless technology and online security, among others.” Some of the industry partners for this year’s event are JobsDB.com, ePLDT, Globe, and Microsoft. The Philippine Computer Society is a premiere organization of over 700 ICT professionals nationwide. Since its founding in 1967, PCS has spearheaded local and international activities which strive to continuously promote, protect and enhance the members of the ICT profession. PCS is a founding member of the Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines (ITFP) as well as the South East Asia Regional Computer Confederation (SEARCC) whose other members include national computer societies from Australia, Hongkong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. For more information on the event, please check our website at www.pcs-it.org. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 23 April 2008 )
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