SLTCFI is Over-all Champion in the Ibalong Street Presentation ‘09

LEGAZPI CITY (10/31/09) – Southern Luzon Technological College Foundation Inc. (SLTCFI) was acclaimed as the over-all champion during the Ibalong Street Presentation last October 30, 2009. The Street Presentation is the main highlight of the vibrant month-long Ibalong Festival celebration. The said festival relives Bicol's early beginnings as depicted in the Ibalong epic during the pre-Spanish times. It tells of mythical heroes Baltog, Bantong and Handyong who fought the villains and ferocious wild beasts that roamed the land of Ibalon and who transformed it into a bustling civilization that is now the Bicol peninsula.

SLTCFI which is a strong supporter of the Ibalong celebration ardently prepared for the said presentation and students from SLTCFI main campus and Pilar branch energetically participated. The participants in their colorful costumes impressively executed their dance routine that brought enjoyment to the spectators.

SLTCFI got awards from all the categories hence being adjudged as the over-all winner of the competition. The awards garnered by SLTCFI contingent were the following:

1st place – Warrior Queen

1st place – Street Dancing

2nd Place – Costume and Props

3rd Place – Exhibition

3rd place – Music & Sound

There were 11 contingents that participated and competed in this year’s Street Presentation representing the schools and institutions from Legazpi City as well as from other parts of the Bicol region.

The majestic Mayon Volcano served as a theatrical back drop as Legazpi City’s thoroughfares were turned into a vast stage for folk art with the participants’ impressive portrayal of the Ibalong epic.

The Ibalong Festival celebration also featured other activities and merriments that include IT events, beauty search, street parties, art exhibits, trade fairs, evening concerts, and food fests.

SLTCFI BPO Incubation Center in Embarcadero de Legazpi Opens for Business

LEGAZPI CITY –The BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) Incubation Center of Southern Luzon Technological College Foundation Inc. (SLTCFI) in Embarcadero de Legazpi was officially inaugurated during the soft opening of Embarcadero last July 17, 2009. The center is an extension of Embarcadero's P1.8-billion IT Park which is the very first IT ecozone in the Bicol region.

Gracing the propitious event were Honorable Legazpi City Mayor Noel E. Rosal, DTI Assistant Regional Director Rodrigo M. Aguilar, TESDA Provincial Director Mariflor R. Liwanag, and Michael Tanner along with Darwin Castañeda of Sutherland Services. Sutherland is amongst the leading offshore outsourcing firms in America with outsourcing IT call center here in The Philippines and has expressed future plans of locating at Embarcadero.

SLTCFI's 600 sq. meter facility will seat around 200 employees that will be part of its IT projects. It will also be the training center in developing a pool of qualified manpower for the call center industry and various BPO services for web development and design, online copywriting, web marketing or Search Engine Optimization, Auto CADD with 2D and 3D animation, cataloging and legal transcription among others.

Demonstrating its deep commitment to propel the ICT development of Legazpi City, SLTCFI continuously provides free trainings on specialized courses in BPO.

At present, the incubation center hosts around 60 employees that form part of the BPO operations currently being incubated by the institution that caters to both local and international clients. SLTCFI's IT-BPO initiatives are geared towards augmenting the employment rate in the locality by providing more employment options and opportunities. It also aims to bolster Legazpi City's present thrust to be regarded as the Next Wave City*.

The SLTCFI BPO center is projected to become Legazpi City and Bicol Regions' center of excellence in terms of IT-BPO trainings and capabilities.

Aside from SLTCFI, Tapa King and Kitaro restaurant also opened during the Embarcadero's soft opening.

___________________

In the top most photo: (from left) Sutherland’s Senior Director Michael Tanner, Darwin Castañeda, Provincial Director Mariflor R. Liwanag, SLTCFI President and CEO Rosemarie Q. Rey, DTI Assistant Regional Director Rodrigo M. Aguilar and Hon. Legazpi City Mayor Noel E. Rosal during the ribbon cutting ceremony.

SLTCFI Holds Graduation for Specialized Training Programs for BPO Services and Pangulong Gloria Scholarship

Legazpi City – In conjunction with the Philippine Independence Day celebration and Legazpi City’s 50th anniversary as a chartered city, Southern Luzon Technological College Foundation Inc. (SLTCFI) held its graduation exercises for the trainees in specialized Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) courses and Pangulong Gloria Scholarship (PGS) Programs at Embarcadero de Legazpi last June 12, 2009.

It was attended by SLTCFI trainees from its main Legazpi campus and other branches that include Tiwi, Pio Duran and Anislag. Trainees from Tektone Global Technologies Foundation Inc., one of Sunwest’s foundations also joined in the celebration.

Gracing the event as the keynote speaker was Honorable Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile who was warmly welcomed by Legazpi City Mayor Noel E. Rosal, Sunwest Group of Companies Chairman of the Board Elizaldy Co, SLTCFI President and CEO Rosemarie Q. Rey and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Provincial Director Mariflor R. Liwanag.

Senator Enrile is a staunch advocate for the betterment of education system in the country and he is instrumental to these free training programs that benefitted many Bicolanos. In his speech he stated that he is a believer of education. “I always make it a point in all my life whenever I have the chance to help our education department… because the real wealth of this nation is in her people,” said Enrile. He also added that the skills acquired through the various trainings will enable the recipients to be globally competitive and become OFWs whose earnings and remittances propel the economic growth of the country.

Expressing his confidence that the people trained in SLTCFI will have the best training and will show a higher quality of skills acquired through the best trainors, the Senate President congratulated Rosemarie Rey, Zaldy Co, and Mayor Rosal and he promised that he will continue to give his full support to the conduct of various free training programs offered in the city.

SLTCFI, Tektone Global and Eco-Trail Society Foundation Hold 1st Graduation Ceremonies for their Trainees

The trainees for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) courses of Southern Luzon Technological College Foundation Inc. (SLTCFI) and the trainees for welding and heavy equipment operation of Tektone Global Technologies Foundation, Inc. and Eco-Trail Society Foundation were given due recognition during their graduation last April 18, 2009 at the Aquinas Dome in Legazpi City.

With the theme, “Galing ng Bicolano, Kaagapay sa Pag-Unlad ng Pilipino at ng Buong Mundo”, the ceremony included an estimated 450 trainees who successfully finished their training for Online Web Marketing, Online Copywriting, Web Development Solution, Online Office Suite Legal Transcription, Welding and Heavy Equipment Operation.

Gracing the event as keynote speaker was Albay 1st District Representative, Honorable Edcel C. Lagman. In his speech, Lagman emphasized the mismatch problem between the skills required by both the local and international employers and the skills possessed by applicants. He commended the said foundations in addressing this mismatch issue especially in this time of global economic meltdown.

Legazpi City Mayor Noel E. Rosal in his address also pointed out that IT-enabled services, welding and heavy equipment operation are among the most in demand in the labor market nowadays. He expressed admiration for the people behind the foundations whose collaborative efforts is also instrumental in the augmentation of employment problems in the Region.

It is worth noting that SLTCFI, Tektone Global Technologies Foundation, Inc. and Eco-Trail Society Foundation are considered to be the specialized and experienced institutions in the Province in the field of modern training techniques for IT, welding and heavy equipment operation. More so, the said foundations not only provide various training programs, but also facilitates job placement and even grants automatic employment for their graduates.

The ceremony also includes the awarding of the top performing trainees in their respective courses and the induction of alumni officers.