THE Negros Occidental Language and Information Technology Center (NOLITC) Software Academy which will be established through a tripartite partnership is poised to further boost the province’ status as one of the country’s key destinations for knowledge process outsourcing (KPO).
Cristina Orbecido, vocational school administrator of NOLITC, on Monday, June 26, said the Provincial Government has partnered with Job and Esther Technologies Inc. and Gurango Software Corp. for the establishment of the academy as an extension of the Capitol-run center.
She said they are in the process of preparing the 523-square meter space at the Negros First Cyber Centre, situated adjacent to the NOLITC building Bacolod City, which will cater to an initial 50 students.
“The project is part of NOLITC’s initiatives of scaling up its program,” Orbecido said, adding that the center already has strong program for the voice sector mainly business process outsourcing.
“We need to level up and address the lack of workforce in the non-voice sector, particularly KPO,” she said.
The academy’s software engineering course is targeted to open in October this year, and will produce its first graduates after 10 months.
Under the agreement to be signed in October, the province will conduct the recruitment and provide the facilities, equipment, and scholarships.
Orbecido said the recruitment is anchored on the requirements set by Job and Esther Technologies, which will conduct the training for the students.
Gurango Software, meanwhile, will tie-up with the industry and take charge of the overall management of the program. It will also tap the Department of Information and Communications Technology for funding of the school operation.
In terms of ensuring employment, Gurango also has a linkage with the Philippine Software Industry Association, Orbecido said.
“These industry-partners are really knowledgeable on the current and future industry demand thus, the students after the training are already prepared for the work,” she added.
The tripartite partnership also provides a revenue sharing of 30 percent for NOLITC, 30 percent for Job and Esther Technologies, and 40 percent for Gurango Software.
Orbecido said that aside from the scholars, students who are financially capable can also enroll at the academy.
“In the next few months, we are optimistic to produce skilled talent pool specifically software engineers who match the industry need,” she added.
Colliers International, a global real estate services company, has listed Bacolod as among the cities in the country outside Metro Manila, aside from the leading Cebu, capable of shifting to KPO.
The city is a key hub for health information management, it added.