Cedfit aims to develop programs to beef up Cebu's IT manpower

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (CEDFIT) expressed interest to avail of the additional funds given by the PNoy government to the Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT).

“We will immediately coordinate with CICT on this matter. We need to provide more programs for the development of human resource pool in Cebu,” said Cedfit executive director Jun Sa-a.

Although the plan is still on the drawing board, Sa-a said it is good to be one of the first to submit proposals on this matter, in order for Cebu to take advantage of its potential in the fast growing IT and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).

Sa-a made the statement following the pronouncement made by CICT secretary Ivan John Uy, that one of the primary beneficiaries of the additional funds is Cebu, as it has proven itself as the second largest BPO/IT investment destination in the country.

Uy said in an earlier interview that Cebu should only specify its needs, in order to properly allocation a share of the P62 million funds to aid the further development of the country’s BPO and IT sectors.

Last month, President Aquino announced that the government will provide a P62 million funds to CICT, on top of the P23 million annual budget of the agency for mobilization and operational expenses, in order to push more programs support the robust BPO sector.

Uy said that Cedfit may avail of the additional funding through loan or training programs.

Although the government still has to release the said P62 million budget, Uy said his plan is to use the money to help propel the BPO industry in the country, specifically in implementing programs that will improve the human resource capability in the Philippines.

Initially, CICT is partnering with several sectors, and agencies in the government to in terms of providing training and workshops. It’s partnership with Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) will be strengthening, as well as its close coordination with the local government units (LGUs.

Uy admitted that the agency is having difficulty in mobilizing and implementing its planned programs due to lack of financial resources, as of this time.

In the past year, the Philippine government was focusing on promoting the Philippines as BPO destination in other countries in the world, “now we are starting to feel the results.”

According to Uy, CICT will focus its programs in building talents for the industry, to coordination with the industry players, and critical agencies like DepEd, Ched, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).

In Cebu, he said the IT and BPO industry can be easily helped because it has the most organized industry, especially with the existence of Cedfit, and strong support from the private sector organizations.

In 2009, the BPO/IT industry in the Philippines generated total revenue of US$7.3 billion. It is projected to grow an average of 36 percent this year, and Cebu is expected to contribute large chunk of the revenue. (FREEMAN)