MANILA -- The International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Technical Education and Skills Development (TESDA) on Thursday announced the opening of 175 scholarships in animation, game creation and web development for Filipino women.
The opening came in celebration of the National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) month, in partnership with the JPMorgan Chase Foundation.
Khalid Hassan, director of ILO Country Office for the Philippines, said women across Southeast Asia has faced difficulties in entering Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics-related (STEM) industries and sometimes challenges in retaining the job in the field.
“This scholarship program seeks to encourage more women to explore and to find more training and employment opportunities in Information Technology-related training programs given the future of work,” he said in a statement.
The Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) sector is among the largest employers of women in the country. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, 53 percent of the sector's employees are women.
The sector has created an average of 100,000 new jobs every year, growing from 527,000 full-time employees in 2010 to 1.1 million in 2016.
Women of ages 18 to 45 years old can avail of scholarship slots for technical-vocational education trainings (TVET) for Animation, Game Development and Web Development.
Training programs range from two to seven months at partner schools in Taguig, Las Piñas, Quezon City and Pasig.
In addition to these technical training programs, the scholars will receive career coaching that will enhance their employability in the information technology workplace.
TESDA Director General Guiling Mamondiong said the initiative also serves as a training and employment assistance to companies who are in need of workers in the IT-BPM industry.
Applicants may apply at the Human Resource Development Institute in Taguig, Top Peg Animation in Las Piñas, Bayan Academy in Quezon City and MFI Polytechnic Institute in Pasig.
Aside from the age requirement, applicants must be a high school graduate. The deadline for submission of applications is on July 2, 2018. (PNA)
