ICT TRAINING. Officials of the Department of Education in Dumaguete City and Inspiro Relia, Inc., a business process outsourcing company, sign a memorandum of agreement on Monday (July 11, 2022) for the training of teachers. The training program is designed for senior high school teachers as the DepEd will include this school year the Contact Center Services in the Technological and Livelihood Education track. (Photo courtesy of Suzanne Lu-Bascara/Inspiro Relia)
DUMAGUETE CITY – Public school teachers from this capital are undergoing training in the business process outsourcing (BPO)/Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry as the Department of Education (DepEd) here integrates this into the Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) track for senior high school students.
Dr. Gregorio Cyrus Elejorde, DepEd-Dumaguete Division schools superintendent, told the Philippine News Agency on Tuesday that the Contact Center Services (CCS) under the TLE will be offered at the opening of this school year in August.
“This has long been overdue and we wanted to start this at the junior high school level but unfortunately the Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic prevented this from happening,” Elejorde said.
The timing is also right because of the current state of BPOs and the ICT industry in Dumaguete and Negros Oriental with more jobs available, he said.
On Monday afternoon, DepEd-Dumaguete officials and Inspiro Relia Inc. Dumaguete inked a memorandum of agreement for the teachers’ training on industry standards to help equip students for employment in that field after graduation.
Suzanne Lu-Bascara, site director of Inspiro Relia Inc. Dumaguete and president of the ICT Association of Dumaguete and Negros Oriental, said their company designed a training program for these teachers that are aligned with industry standards.
“The DepEd, through Dr. Elejorde approached us before the pandemic to try to get industry training for his Senior High Contact Center teachers. His goal is to make their senior high graduates employment-ready after graduation,” she said.
The teacher-participants were screened, just like how applicants to a BPO are screened, “to identify gaps where we can fill through training,” she added.
They were chosen from all of the city’s seven national high schools and will undergo 20 hours of training for 10 days, starting immediately after the signing of the agreement.
Bascara said Inspiro and the local BPO/ICT association will support DepEd teachers this school year so that by graduation next year, “we can offer employment to graduates who apply and qualify”. (PNA)
