SL Technological College Foundation Inc. Participates in the 1st National Summit of ICT Councils

SL Technological College Foundation Inc. (SLTCFI) headed by the institution’s President, Rosemarie Q. Rey and Marketing Manager James Nuñez actively participated in the country’s 1st National Summit of ICT Councils which was held last November 25-26 at the Maria Cristina Hotel in Iligan City.

With the theme of "Advancing Philippine BPO-IT Competitiveness: Networking of Local ICT Players for the National Effort,'' the National Summit of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) councils focused on the local ICT councils and foundations' competitiveness enhancement in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry.

The Iligan Information and Communications Technology Council (IICTC, or Iligan eCouncil), Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), and the Iligan City chamber of commerce organized the said event. The organizers believe that the action plans conceived during the summit will contribute directly to the unified vision of the government in providing investment and employment for the people.

Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Ll. Cruz expressed his gratitude to the stakeholders and practitioners in the field of information technology who attended the said event. Among those who responded to the invitation were organized local IT-Business Process Outsourcing stakeholders and players from the cities of Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iligan, Iloilo, General Santos, Legaspi, Metro Clark and Quezon.

In the said conference, speakers discussed about best practices focused on the need for a multi-stakeholder approach to attain success in the IT-BPO industry. Among the noted speakers was Rosemarie Q. Rey, President of Albay ICT Association, who discussed about the integration of IT component in setting up a tourism economic zone. Rey, who is also the president and CEO of SLTCFI (an IT school in Legazpi City that partners with foreign-based firms for business process outsourcing) has long been promoting and implementing various ICT initiatives that are making major impact in the local IT-BPO industry. Other speakers in the summit include Bacolod Councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, chairperson of Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for ICT Inc.; Bonifacio Belen, executive director of Cebu Educational Development Foundation for IT, and Glenn Aguilar, chairperson of Iloilo Federation for IT and Lizabel Holganza, president of ICT Davao Inc.

The vision of the summit is to serve as a venue for collaboration and sharing of best practices and the unified voice of regional stakeholders in the country’s ICT industry. The ICT councils expressed their commitment and solid support to the various initiatives for the growth and development of Information and Communications Technology in the country in order to generate investments and revenues and to create more jobs for Filipinos.

SLTCFI is privileged and proud to be part of this significant event and the institution is committed in promoting the summit’s vision which will contribute to the development of ICT in the country through local initiatives.

In this regard, SLTCFI is confident that it is strongly equipped to assist and support the local government of Legazpi in improving and developing its ICT industry by implementing programs that will enhance the educational system and in it, integrate ICT to produce a highly competent workforce. This initiative will in turn improve the lives of the people not just in the locality but in the whole of the nation as well.

SLTCFI: A Major Partner of Embarcadero's IT Park

Embarcadero which is accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority as an economic tourism zone is a major seafront commercial and IT development in the city of Legazpi. It is projected to become the prime destination for local and international tourists alike.

Aside from the much anticipated commercial hub of Embarcadero, the P1.8-billion IT Park Promenade which will be the very first IT ecozone in the Bicol region heightened the excitement of every Legazpeño as it promises better employment opportunities not just among the city locals but for many Bicolanos as well.

Among the private sectors that strongly supports Albay's very own IT park is Southern Luzon Technological College Foundation Inc. (SLTCFI) -- an IT school in Legazpi City which has been operating facilities for outsourced services for years already. With the strong leadership of SLTCFI’s President and CEO Rosemarie Q. Rey, the institution became a trusted partner for various United States-based business process outsourcing (BPO) firms. The institution also provides training for various Information Communications Technology (ICT) enabled services.

According to Rey, SLTCFI will be one of the locators in Embarcadero’s IT Park, along with around three other BPO firms still under negotiation. The school will be posting three accounts in Embarcadero: One for a financial account for an Australian company, another for an outsourced web development, and a call center for a foreign telecoms firm. Aside from these, SLTCFI is already hosting accounts that deals web programming, web marketing, and web copywriting.

In an interview for the Philippine Daily Inquirer dated November 10, 2008, Rey said: "What we want is when the locators come, we will already have a trained pool of manpower. And we're not limiting ourselves to call centers. We're also familiar with backroom operations and other technical needs of the e-commerce industry."

Among the highly trained group of students and young professionals for online marketing facilitated by SLTCFI is Alexander Osias. The trainings and employment opportunities provided for by SLTCFI made Osias thankful because he no longer needs to go to Manila and work far from his wife and child. In an interview for the Philippine Daily Inquirer last November 10, 2008, Osias expressed excitement about the Embarcadero prospect saying: "Legazpi City is starting to come alive. We no longer need to try our luck in Metro Manila to earn enough. Now, what we can earn in the province is enough for our family's daily needs, without having to leave them behind."

Sandra Balderama, a graduating Computer Science student from SLTCFI is also among those enthusiastic about the Embarcadero IT Park. Having been given opportunities by the school to train for programs like web marketing and call center competency, Balderama sees a bright future ahead of her here in Legazpi City.

With the dedication and hard work of the local government of Legazpi that partners with institutions like SLTCFI, more opportunities will be opened for Albayanos and a steady progress for the province will soon be realized.

For more about the Philippine Daily Inquirer Article featuring Embarcadero and SLTCFI, click here.

SL Technological College Foundation Inc. Supports Congressman Bichara’s Scholarship Program

Quality education is a priceless gift to be endowed upon. That is why SL Technological College Foundation Inc., one of the schools in the Bicol Region that offers quality yet affordable IT education, has responded aggressively to the Scholarship Program of Albay 2^nd District Congressman, Al Francis Bichara. The legislator and the said institution strongly support and prioritize the education of the Filipino youth specifically the poor but deserving Albayanos.

Under Congressman Bichara's educational development program, he released to the Technical and Educational Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) some P5 million in Project Development and Assistance Fund (PDAF) funds under his scholarship program.

SLTCFI seizes the opportunity to provide the gift of education to deserving and talented youth of Albay and the neighboring province through Congressman Bichara’s program. Among the ten schools in Albay that responded to the program, SLTCFI has the most number of scholars. There were 88 scholars accommodated for the 2-year and 4-year courses. Another 30 PESFA scholars endorsed by the Congressman were also able to avail of the school’s short-term courses.

As a way of appreciation of Congressman Bichara’s endeavors for the educational welfare of these students, SLTCFI President, Rosemarie Q. Rey initiated a “thank you program” held last November 24, 2008 at Congressman Bichara’s office. Also present in the occasion were scholars from Don Bosco and Onda Technological Training Center. The Congressman was very pleased by the SLTCFI scholars’ gestures as they gave and presented him cards, native gifts and a song number as their way of thanking him. The awarding of 30 scholarship slots to deserving students that are entitled to take the short-term course of Computer Programming in SLTCFI was also facilitated in the said occasion.

With efforts and dedication from local legislators like Congressman Bichara, and with the ever ready support from institutions like SLTCFI, who believes that the pursuit of higher education must not be limited to the financially-abled, quality education is afforded to poor but diligent and talented Bicolanos.