Accenture grants P58 million for IT skills training program

CEBU, Philippines - Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company, has partnered with a French non-government organization in their effort to further hone the skills of Cebu’s IT professionals.

Accenture Foundation recently awarded Passerelles Numeriques (PN) US$1.26 million or over P58 million funds for the latter’s Cebu System and Network Administration training initiatives.

The grant, which will be distributed over a four-year period, will be used to help disadvantaged young people from all over the Visayas acquire IT skills.

PN president Benoit Genuini said that a recent survey conducted by his organization showed that Cebu is in desperate need of hardware IT professionals, such as technicians.

PN has an existing partnership with the University of San Carlos (USC) to provide a specialized vocational course for the PN scholars to take the System Network Administration course, under the university’s Computer Engineering program.

In turn, Accenture will deploy its own experts in the field to give free training to the growing 69 scholars of PN who are currently taking the specialized course.

Accenture’s grant of over P58 million will be spent during the entire duration of a four-year course program.

Aside from Accenture, PN has also gained support from other technology related companies.

Genuini said that with more companies supporting the PN’s program, the organization is aiming to provide over 100 graduates a year in this particular course program.

Aside from free tuition fee, scholars are also given free board and lodging, food and other basic necessities.

The award is part of Accenture’s corporate citizenship focus dubbed “Skills to Succeed,” which educates people around the world, building skills that enable them to participate in and contribute to the economy.

“Accenture has raised the bar of its corporate citizenship agenda with Skills to Succeed,” said Lito Tayag, country managing director of Accenture Delivery Centers in the Philippines.

“Our partnership with PN allows Accenture to contribute to skills enhancement of underprivileged youth in Cebu and other provinces. This helps beneficiaries participate in and contribute to the Philippine economy, and to the future of the local IT industry,” Tayag added.

The staff of Accenture France originally helped establish PN. With more than US$1 million funding from Accenture Foundations, PN created the Center for System’s Training (CIST) in Cambodia, which helps underprivileged students in that country build the skills they need to obtain IT jobs.

The PN student beneficiaries undergo a three-year program. In addition to the standard curriculum at USC, they will participate in on-the-job training in a partner company, such as Accenture, where they will spend several days each week.

Karina Gan, Accenture Asia Pacific marketing director said that corporate citizenship is fundamental to Accenture’s character and the way the company runs business.

“From Skills to Succeed, to our environmental stewardship initiatives, we work to make a sustainable difference in the long-term vibrancy and vitality of people and communities around the world,” Gan said.

In 2007, Accenture Philippines opened its 500-seat Global Delivery Center Network for Technology in Cebu serving the company's global IT consulting works. Few years later, the company expanded its operations here to include voice services or call center operation.