A senior lawmaker said on Monday that a new law directs the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and local government units (LGUs) to conduct a mapping of technology and digital skills across the country to identify available skills and gaps. in ICT infrastructure, platforms and skills.
Camarines Sur Rep. Lray Villafuerte said Republic Act (RA) 11927 or the Philippine Digital Workforce Competitiveness Act, which he co-authored, took effect last July.
Villafuerte said RA 11927 establishes the Inter-Agency Council for the Development and Competitiveness of the Philippine Digital Workforce which aims to “ensure that all Filipino youth, students and workers have access to and have skills and competencies in content, platforms and technology that are up to global standards and will foster digital innovations and entrepreneurship.”
This inter-institutional council will be presided over by the National Economic Development Authority (Neda) and will have the DOLE as member-agency; SAID; Departments of Commerce and Industry (DTI), Science and Technology (DOST), Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Education (DepEd); Higher Education Commission (CHED); and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
Villafuerte said the law states that with the DOLE as lead agency, and together with the DICT, LGUs and other stakeholders, the Inter-Agency Council “shall conduct a nationwide digital technology and digital skills map, identifying available skills and competencies, skills gaps and training needs, the demographics of the Philippine workforce in the digital technology and sectors, and the availability and access to digital platforms and ICT infrastructure, among others”.
He said the new jobs that Filipino workers need to excel in to advance in the post-pandemic world are in FIRe fields such as engineering and cloud computing, data and artificial intelligence (AI ), web development and management, e-commerce marketing, animation and content creation, online teaching and tutoring, 3D modeling and graphic design, game and mobile application development, search engine optimization, animation and content creation, branding of social media (socmed) and public relations, virtual assistance, transcription and data entry, and online teaching and tutoring.
To ensure the “e-readiness” of the LGUs, Villafuerte said the law directs the DICT, the Departments of Budget and Management (DBM) and Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and other relevant agencies to ensure “the ‘universal access to high speed’. Quality and affordable Internet prioritizing and facilitating the development of ICT infrastructure in localities throughout the country.”
The law requires the DILG and the DICT to jointly assess the e-readiness of all municipalities, cities, provinces and regions to ensure a thriving digital workforce ecosystem, and for this purpose calls on the national government to “prioritize digital construction”. infrastructure to encourage digital economic activity under its infrastructure programs or initiatives,” said Villafuerte, who is the majority leader of the bicameral Commission on Appointments (CA) that scrutinizes presidential appointments.
[ad_2]
Source link
