MANILA -- Stakeholders of the country’s information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry including various government agencies, the academe, industry players, associations, and organizations gathered today (May 13, 2022) in a forum, and made a strong commitment to further their collaboration, with the end view of advancing the development and strengthening the already competitive industry.  

Gathering all relevant agencies and industry associations for the country’s IT-BPM industry, the Philippine Board of Investments (BOI), through its Trade and Industry Development Talks (TIDTalks) platform, organized the hybrid forum where online and onsite participants validated and provided valuable insights, feedback, and suggestions on the survey analysis and findings of the National Skills Mapping Survey for the IT-BPM industry.  

The National Skills Mapping Survey, an initiative of the BOI and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) aimed to identify the human resource development needs of the IT-BPM industry and its sub-sectors to develop work-ready and globally competitive workers. The survey is part of the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Strengthening Industry-Academe Linkages between the BOI and CHED. The MOU primarily focused on discussing the need for a more concurrent partnership between sectors to strengthen the industry-academe linkages and produce globally-competitive workers for the Philippine industries. 

The presentation of the survey is a crucial first step in translating its recommendations into actionable initiatives for the industry and address the gaps in the country’s human capital development, particularly in the following IT-BPM sectors: Animation, Game Development, Healthcare Information Management, Software Development.  

Kicked off in November 2021 and concluded in January this year, the survey specifically aims to map out the skills requirements of the IT-BPM sector and course offerings of universities. Such an initiative would help the industry stakeholders to consider the changes in the labor market brought about by the pandemic and the fast adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. 

The participants of the event agreed on the survey recommendations to conduct a comprehensive curriculum review and the re-alignment of existing IT-related course offerings in schools. Another takeaway from the TIDTalks was the emboldened support to the academe through the development of policies, plans, and programs relevant to the IT-BPM industry.  

The industry stakeholder participants in the TIDTalks also agreed to push for coordinated programs for the upskilling and retooling of the IT-BPM workforce as well as the strengthened local and international branding support for Filipino talents and their IT-related works.  

Ms. Ana Maria “Penny” S. Bongato, an HR practitioner for more than two decades in growing industries and the former Executive Director of Talent Development of the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), presented the results of the survey. According to Bongato, the country’s IT-BPM industry is changing at a “very fast pace,” particularly during the pandemic, as people are working in the comfort of their homes.  

Notably, the preparedness of graduates for the animation, game development, software industry, and health information management sectors is low, the survey bared. Some companies, the survey found out, partner with the academe in terms of internship and curriculum development; however, smaller studios may not have the headcount (HR group) to dedicate to such partnership.  

“We have to work faster and together… companies must continue to intervene to prepare new hires for actual work to be done,” Bongato noted, “quality of talents needs to be addressed for us to be competitive.”  

Bongato pointed out that deliberate efforts among different government agencies are crucial to working as one in developing surveys and programs that would help the various sectors. Soft skills continue to be one of the main concerns of the sectors, which include the following: communication, work ethics, problem-solving, and critical thinking.  

The survey recommended that the education sector (basic and tertiary) should work hand in hand with the industry on ways of improving the competencies of the students. It also suggested that there should be a review of the existing programs being implemented by various government agencies, namely: Bachelor of Science in Entertainment and Multimedia Computing for Animation and Game Development, BSBA and BS IT with specialization in Service Management, Nursing informatics subject submitted by the Healthcare Information Management Association of the Philippines (HIMAP), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) programs.  

Deemed crucial to the IT-BPM industry, the Philippines Skills Framework (PSF) will shore up the development of more talents for the said industry. Bongato recommended that government agencies working with the sectors should have a consolidated effort, so that more coordinated programs may be developed from planning to execution and review.  

Streamlining government agencies' efforts in working with the sectors will result in more coordinated programs that may be developed from planning to execution and review and evaluation, Bongato stressed. 

Meanwhile, DICT - ICT Industry Development Bureau Director Emmy Lou Delfin presented the plans and programs to support the ICT workforce in the Philippines. Beefing up the digital readiness of the Philippines for the New Normal, the DICT is gearing up its initiatives through Connect, Harness, Innovate, Protect (CHIP) Conceptual Framework.  

According to Director Delfin, the pandemic brought changes to the IT-BPM industry, for it altered client needs and demands, modified prevailing work models, and accelerated digital transformation. To bolster the support to the said industry, the DICT has launched scores of initiatives such as the Leveraging the IT-BPM Industry and Fostering Local Talents (LIFT), which aims to promote careers in the industry and showcase Filipino talent.  

In addressing the skills gap in the IT-BPM industry, Director Cherrie Melanie Ancheta-Diego of CHED pointed out that quality assurance should be the primary focus to strengthen such an industry. “The result of the survey will be a significant input for us,” the CHED official emphasized, “this is the spark of our continuing conversation.”  

Other participants in the panel discussion were Executive Director Nelly Nita Dillera of the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC), Assistant Secretary Dominique Rubia-Tutay of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Executive Director Rosalina Constantino of TESDA, and Director Samuel Soliven of the Department of Education (DepEd).  

In her remarks, Executive Director Ma. Corazon Dichosa expressed her appreciation for those who attended the event be it onsite or online.  “Finally, we hope to address the present and anticipate the future talent requirements of the country’s emerging industries and develop a more relevant, responsive, resilient, and sustainable talent pipeline. Our young and educated population is the most important value proposition that makes the Philippines more attractive to foreign investors and we intend consistently maintain this profile,” she said.  

Also, the event underlined convergent efforts to capacitate and invest in the Filipino people, determine the areas or regions where to extend our technical assistance, and streamline and address the gaps between the industry's priorities vis-à-vis the course offerings of Philippine universities and colleges.  

The event was participated by the representatives from the following government agencies, academes, and organizations: CHED, DOLE, DICT, PTTC, TESDA, DepEd, DTI-Bureau of Trade and Industrial Policy Research (BTIPR), IBPAP, the Animation Council of the Philippines Inc. (ACPI), the Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP), HIMAP, ICT Dumaguete, De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde, FEU Institute of Technology, Adamson University, and Asia Pacific College, among others. (BOI)