Asean’s IT champ is a master Office user

What does it take to become an information technology (IT) champion? Uncanny programming skills? A totally geeky attitude? Or just plain mastery of one of the most common computer applications?

For Joey Manansala, his mastery of the Microsoft Office applications mattered the most when he competed and won in the IT category of the ASEAN Skills Olympics in Bangkok, Thailand last March 21.

The 19-year-old Computer Science junior of AMA Computer College bested eight other contestants from Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Thailand in the use of the MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Excel applications to emerge as Southeast Asia’s IT king. He will be representing the region in the World Skills Olympics this September in Seoul, South Korea.

Manansala prepared for only two months for the contest. He said the tasks they were asked to do were fairly easy but they were judged not only on their ability to perform those tasks but on the speed in which they completed them.

"Raymond and I had to concentrate to be fast," he said, referring to Raymond Arnado, a student from the Cordilleras, who placed a close second in the contest and was also given a gold medal. "It was hard to maintain focus because the contest was done inside a shopping mall."

IT is just one of the dozens of skills showcased in the Skills Olympics. The biennial contest also covers skills in iron works, woodworking, electronics, furniture-making, dressmaking and others. The Philippines also bagged gold medals in woodworking and furniture and cabinet-making.

AMA vice president Arnel Hibo, who acted as the Philippines’ IT coach in the contest, said Filipinos are beginning to be considered a force in IT.

"We can really match the skills of the Americans, the Singaporeans or Japanese when it comes to IT if only we are given the support by the government," he said.

The Skills Olympics, according to Hibo, is a perfect venue to highlight the talents of Filipino IT experts since the contest is recognized throughout the world.

"We’re going against the best in the world in using a single software. The Skills Olympics actually created a level-playing field where all the contestants competed in something they all know which is the MS Office," he explained.

AMA was placed in a bad light when the ILOVEYOU computer virus that wreaked havoc on millions of computers around the world last year was traced to one of its students.

Though the guilt of Onel de Guzman, the student suspected of creating the virus, was not fully established, still the school suffered in terms of loss in its credibility. With Manansala’s victory, however, AMA has gotten back to its feet and can now again lay claim to being one of the country’s top IT schools.

"We just hope Joey wins in the World Skills Olympics," Hibo said. "His victory is not only good for AMA but for the entire country." – Junep Ocampo