SEVENTY-SIX out-of-school youth and youth with disabilities graduated from the Iloilo City Information Technology Training Center April 13.
They were beneficiaries of the City Government’s Sharing Computer Access Locally and Abroad-Integrated Life Skills Education (Scala-ILSE) in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Western Visayas and Engineers without Boarders of Canada.
“I congratulate the graduates for their success. May all of you serve as inspiration to all youth in our city to go back to their studies and learn things that could help them improve their lives,” Mayor Jose Espinosa III said.
August Cadete, one of the outstanding trainees, said the program of the City Government not only helped him personally to develop his knowledge on computer but also to find a job.
“The program is of big help to me and to my family because my father and mother are in the province and we don’t have enough money to fund for my education. This is a good avenue for us who would like to gain knowledge but are underprivileged in life,” Cadete said.
Cadete finished his first year as an IT student at the University of Iloilo. He then transferred to Iloilo Science and Technology University, but after his third year, he stopped due to financial reason. He found an option in the city’s IT literacy initiative.
“To those out-of-school youth, do not just stay wherever you are and do nothing, if you want to lift your lives, do something,” Cadete said.
The six-month IT literacy program is a non-formal education for the disadvantaged youth in the metropolis. The recipients were taught on basics of computer, Windows 2000, usage of mouse, typing, encoding basics, MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Internet, MS FrontPage, MS Access, and Computer Maintenance and troubleshooting guide.
City Social Worker Officer IV Nida Espadon said beneficiaries were also taught about life skills education including pre-skills motivation, on-training seminar, and pre-employment services.
The program is intended for 15 to 24 years old out-of-school youth, unemployed, under-employed single from low-income families and must be a member of the Pag-asa Youth Association of the Philippines (PYAP) Inc., with at least one year high school education, youth with disabilities, and with special needs undergoing after care service, offenders, and victims of abuse, among others. (PR)