The president of the Israel Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ICCP) said Filipinos should change their mindset and improve their skill set to achieve their goal of becoming a blockchain hub in Asia.
Speaking at the third general assembly of the Philippine Association of Digital Commerce and Decentralized Industry (PADCDI), ICCP President David Elefant told the Cryptovest the goal of transforming the country into a major fintech center in the region is achievable with the help of all participants.
"The level of skill set has to be improved to meet the demand of the technology," Elefant said. But he clarified there is really no expert in blockchain at this time because the technology is still new and continues to evolve.
However, he cited an example of the experience of some of his friends in BPO (business process outsourcing) who trained people for their operation only to see them move to other employment after achieving the level of skills required for a particular industry.
"That kind of attitude does not help. But of course it is understandable because other countries offer higher pay. What you need here is to develop the local talent and offer them salaries so they will stay here," he added.
At the same time, Elefant stressed the need improve the training program for software developers which the local talents are not getting from traditional education. While the Philippines’ education system is now a K-12 education program, adding two years of education to Filipino students, it is still not sufficient to develop qualified developers.
"What people are learning IT (information technology) in schools is not sufficient. I have two on-the-job trainees in one of the businesses that I have – they are IT guys – but they lack the qualification in IT. The schools training is not going to get them anywhere. They need further training," he said.
In a previous interview with PADCDI chairman Mary Rose Magsaysay, she said the group is collaborating with the government to improve the skills of local workers to put them on a par with world-class software programmers.
She said requested the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to offer blockchain training courses in some of its accredited schools around the country.
Magsaysay said:
"I had a meeting with TESDA director general, Secretary Guiling A. Mamondiong, and I suggested to him that he include blockchain software development training in TESDA's curriculum. He was actually receptive to the suggestion. He just wants more information so he would have a better understanding of the technology and can justify its funding."
To date, PADCDI is still waiting for this plan to come to fruition.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest
