Upskilling the digital skills of workers in the Philippines

Established under a new law, the Inter-Agency Council for Development and Competitiveness of Philippine Digital Workforce will conduct a digital technology and skills mapping exercise to identify skill gaps in ICT infrastructure, platforms, and skills.

Led by the Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the Inter-Agency Council will seek to “ensure that all Filipino youth, students and workers have access to and are provided with skills and competencies in digital contents, platforms and technology that are at par with global standards, and shall encourage digital innovations and entrepreneurship”, said Lray Villafuerte, Camarines Sur Rep, who co-authored the Philippine Digital Workforce Competitiveness Act.

The council will also be tasked with identifying the training needs of the Philippine workforce in digital tech. According to Villafuerte, the new jobs that Filipino workers need to excel in to get ahead in the post-pandemic world lie in fields like engineering and cloud computing, data and artificial intelligence, web development and management and e-commerce marketing, among others.

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The DICT and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) are required to jointly assess the e-readiness of all municipalities, cities, provinces, and regions to ensure a thriving digital workforce ecosystem, he added.