Microsoft implements program to train government workers
In a bid to help government professionals become knowledge workers, Microsoft Philippines has launched the Government Technology Education Center (GTEC) program for government employees in the Philippines.
MANILLA, 11 JUL 2000 (Manilla Bulletin) - Pilot site for the program will be the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) IT Center.
In an interview, Sam Jacoba II, Microsoft Philippines' business development manager, said GTEC will initially focus on training government professionals on the Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS) program.
Recalling a dialogue he had with Philippine Internet Service Organization (PISO) Chairman Dr. Bill Torres, Jacoba said "training is a neglected component of (the) government."
Aside from this he also mentioned the lack of "structured institutions" that can accommodate training requirements. In the meantime, he said there is need by government IT specialists to retool themselves.
Jacoba said Microsoft is drafting ways to expand the program which they plan to establish in each province, in the future.
The target is to train and certify 40 percent of the 1.2 million government employees in just three years, Jacoba said. Fifty people were initially trained under GTEC last June 21.
Participants will receive a certificate of participation and an MOUS certificate, if they pass the exam that is given on the third day of training.
The PUP ICT Center sprang from a need by government manpower to widen their ICT literacy, and for government to encourage the use of computers in the daily work of its public servants.
Director Mely Luya said P75 million was spent on the ICT Center, a third of which went into the center's first phase of development, which includes the acquisition of equipment, software and hardware.
Facilities now include three servers running on Windows NT, Pentium III computers with 128MB RAM and multimedia ready, and a a C++ enterprise edition database.
The remaining P50 million - committed by President Estrada - will be spent on phase two of the center's development which is the creation of a digital library where journals can be accessed, electronically.
Since the GTEC program is a non-exclusive partnership with Microsoft, Luya said they plan to "open partnerships with solutions providers" in phase two. She said the PUP ICT Center has partnered with Cisco.
