CEBU, Philippines - Investing in the growth of its workforce while enhancing productivity in information and technology, Accenture offers a training and certification program for its employees with the partnership of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professional Education.
Such collaboration is mainly evident in the Accenture Technology Academy (ATA), a career development opportunity in which employees can earn four types of certification to further develop and recognize critical technology delivery skills across the company’s global IT workforce.
Accenture Cebu Senior Executive Lead for Technology Darwin Soriano said that the company capitalizes in training particularly in technology to “get our people into the IT world” and to have such practitioners be specialized with their specific technologies.
Since its launch in 2006, more than 36,000 Accenture IT professionals have enrolled globally in ATA of which almost 2,500 were from Accenture Philippines.
From the number of more than 6,500 Accenture employees to date who have earned an ATA certification globally, Soriano revealed that 400 from those who have been certified came from the Philippines.
He cited that the ATA certifications vary from certified application developer, certified application designer, certified application tester and application test designer.
To be awarded with such, he explained that employees are required to finish the 240 hours of online and classroom trainings, project experiences and pass the two certification exams developed by the two organizations.
He also said that it has been aspirational for the company’s employees to be MIT-certified and to access the MIT education and expertise at no cost.
Although he could not determine the exact number of the Cebuano employees who have certified in the program, he noted that Cebu has always been critical for Accenture’s growth in the Philippines and worldwide.
What adds to their distinction, he added, is the creativity, talent and drive to be certified and their loyalty to stay and grow in the company.
“We’re able to feel that seriously during our programs. Cebuanos really are committing their time and energy for this,” he said.
Accenture Capability Technology Lead Winston Cruz, on the other hand, said the collaboration between Accenture and MIT allows the former to achieve a certain level of proficiency as a developer in the IT arena.
“Our programs are evaluated by a trusted authority in the academic area which may not be present in the corporate world. So with MIT, they can have a peek to what’s happening in corporations and experience what our people are experiencing day in and day out,” he continued.
He also noted that the ATA certification is more on the value of recognition which developers have been aspiring for.
He added that it is a strong tool that would prove that the employee certified as a high performer.
He further said that the training program is offered to Accenture’s employees in a voluntary basis to enable them to achieve success in their career paths through various learning opportunities.
Celebrating Technology Month this July, Accenture conducted MIT faculty lecture series for IT professionals and students in Cebu and Manila with Srini Devadas, MIT Professor for Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, as the speaker. (FREEMAN)