Achieving global IT education locally

The IT industry boom in the country is believed to guarantee employment for Filipinos – here and abroad.

Yet some people do not attest to this. There have been student group demonstrations demanding explanations on why they could not find jobs after graduation. So, does education really translate into work?

We have long realized the value of education and how it encourages growth and the well-being of a nation. There is, however, a need for deeper understanding that there are other pre-qualifications to ensure that Filipinos will find IT employment: 1) quality of Philippine IT education; 2) industry collaboration; and 3) demand for Filipino IT workers in and out of the country;

Quality of Philippine IT education

The Internet Age has brought us immense opportunities. We are now able to study online with just a click of the mouse. With the Philippine economy opening up to the world comes great challenges. Filipinos now have to compete on a global standard, more so for the quality of our education.

In evaluating the standard of education, a few thoughts should be kept in mind:

a) The Philippine IT schools’ curricula must be at par with global standards. The IT courses we deliver must be IT-focused, up-to-date and accredited – or at least accepted – by vendor experts. When we examine our IT schools closely, we find that a lot of them are schools specialized in other fields, which also offer IT courses just because of the growing demand. Some of the schools’ curricula are so outdated. With IT vendors upgrading software every few months, outdated curricula become obsolete.

On the other hand, so many schools which offer updated curricula do not have a reliable source for their course content. The materials we teach to our future leaders must come from experts who develop the software. For example, an IT school teaching Oracle must first be specialized in IT; secondly, the software version must be updated; and lastly, the content must have Oracle’s accreditation.

b) Since our curricula require global standards, so must our teachers. Professors must be certified that they are, indeed, qualified to teach.

c) The methodology of teaching must be a proper mix of all the necessary "ingredients" to maximize learning. Especially for IT, lecture, practice and well-rounded assessments are all equally important. Lecture must involve the teacher’s humanistic approach, practice must be simulated from the actual program, and assessments must be comprised of questions on course fundamentals as well as incorporating problem-solving and/or case studies to encourage logical thinking. To aid in the lecture, practice and assessment, our schools must be properly equipped with the right tools for learning, i.e. the infrastructure must be up-to-date and accessible to both the students and the faculty.

d) Lastly, our graduates must be trained to be well-rounded individuals to cope with the global demand of handling multi-tasking. There is a need for students to be equipped with the technical ability to do a project, the business acumen to understand the value of the company, and the communication skills to bridge the gap between the two.

Collaboration

Since the main focus of IT graduates is to find employment, it naturally follows that the government and IT/education companies must be involved in assisting schools develop quality curricula. Schools cannot implement breakthrough ideas alone; there has to be full-blown assistance from the government and IT/education companies.

Schools are very particular about endorsements from the government when dealing with private institutions, therefore, the government must facilitate the accreditation and/or recognition of IT/education companies. To promote IT literacy, there must be a continuous cycle where the government becomes the proponent that brings private IT/education companies and schools to work together in producing quality Filipino graduates.

Demand for Filipino IT workers in and out of the country

Recent studies show that new investment from at least three telecommunication companies will generate 5,000 more IT jobs within the year. (Philippine Star, May 2, 2002, Business Section) Whether these telecom companies are local or foreign, the important thing is that they are guaranteeing jobs for the Filipino labor force.

In addition, the demand for skilled workers outside of the Philippines continues to grow and Filipinos are on top of the list. Managers of top companies expect to create 1.1 million jobs concentrating solely on IT, and half of that will not be filled because of the gap between demand and supply. (Tiffany Kary CNET News.com, May 6, 2002) To add, a Meta Group Study concluded that the Philippines bested 47 other countries as having the best skilled workers in knowledge jobs, including IT and engineering. The demand for Filipino IT workers is growing exponentially.

Education shuttles us through to the new knowledge economy. However, it is up to our graduates to define how the new economy will fare.

There is a huge demand for IT skills worldwide and Filipinos have been proven to top the list. With strong collaboration between the Philippine government and IT education companies, we can ensure that our IT graduates receive internationally accredited quality IT education.

Through the continuous adoption of the Internet, our country is opening up to the world fast. Thus, we must be globally competitive. As well, it is important not only to have our graduates achieve global standards but to make education accessible to all without discrimination on social status, geography or age.

For when our IT workers leave for abroad, the remaining population must also be equipped with the same skills to propel the Philippines into the new knowledge economy.

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Arlene K. Yap is CEO of Yapster e-Learning Inc., a member of the Yapster e-Conglomerate Inc. You may contact her at [email protected].