DAVAO CITY – Affordable Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda)-certified Artificial Intelligence (AI) courses are being offered to Dabawenyo youths, as an alternative pathway to lucrative livelihood opportunities in the Information Technology (IT) industry.
Jairo Institute, an IT-centered school located in Cabantian, Davao City, offers a Tesda-certified program on Bubble.io, a low-code, no-code platform for building web development. They are also offering Tesda NCII-certified CSS (Computer System Servicing) and Python programming for machine learning and AI.
Mary Grace Garcia, program manager at Jairo Institute of Technology, says the training and Tesda-certified programs capacitate learners with skills actually needed by the IT industry.
“Our Tesda programs, these are new programs in the market… providing them with training on things like scrum master, project management using the scale agile framework,” Garcia said.
Global industries use these training programs, and having these skills makes the trainees employable.
“It’s a big opportunity like the youth, or the youth who are not in school or are not working, we also have scholarships provided by Tesda,” Garcia said.
One current scholarship program is an ongoing partnership with the Sangguniang Kabataan of Buhangin.
Jairo and SK Buhangin provide free training on Bubble.io– an AI-assisted technology for developing software and other applications.
“Bubble.io is a new platform being used in software development. When we develop systems, it takes up to six months to one year. But by using Bubble.io, you can actually create a website in just minutes,” says Engineer Armelita Pulido, Technical-Vocational Institute head of JIT.
Engr. Karl Jordan Caumban, SAFe project management trainer, says it is important for the youth to learn to harness AI as it is not a replacement but a tool that can optimize or enhance what they are doing.
Another Tesda-certified course is the NC II in Computer System Servicing. They are offering industrial-based training, not only theoretical lessons, but training using an industrial-based training setup.
They are targeting government agencies that are digitizing their processes, and training personnel who set up and maintain their IT systems.
The school is offering affordable short-term courses while awaiting TESDA’s approval of scholarships for out-of-school youths and working adults who need upskilling. (PIA/RGA)