MANILA – The national government’s bid for digital transformation gained a big boost after getting support from Siemens AG, a German multinational technology conglomerate.
In a meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday, Siemens AG President and CEO Dr. Roland Busch said the tech giant is open to providing training for Filipino workers and businesses adapting to modern technologies, noting the Philippines’ ideal young workforce for such a program.
“Actually, there are a couple of things coming together. It’s like a lot of stars are aligned: 110 million people—young people— and most of them are English-speaking. And secondly, I know that you’re also building data centers in your country, laying the foundation for cloud and cloud applications because we need that,” Busch was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Presidential Communications Office.
“We are more than happy to do more in terms of training the small and medium-sized enterprises to see where they can go,” he added.
Marcos, currently in Berlin for a three-day working visit, expressed confidence in the capabilities of the Filipino workforce to become competitive in navigating technologies.
“We are blessed with a good workforce, a young workforce that is very well-trained, and has very good experience with working in foreign entities, countries, corporations,” the President said.
“And I think the need right now is for the upskilling to the new technologies that we are talking about. That I think is going to be key,” he added.
The Chief Executive said the Philippines is looking ahead and future-proofing its workforce as technology continues to evolve.
Marcos has made digital transformation one of his administration’s priorities.
In his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) last year, the President emphasized the government's commitment to leveraging technology to enhance public services, streamline governance, and foster economic growth.
Siemens has been operating in the country for more than 125 years.
The company has made significant technological contributions in the areas of telecommunications, energy, factory automation, mobility, and smart building technologies since 1894. (PNA)
