IBM partnered with the Asia Pacific College (APC) to host the SkillsBuild Innovation Camp that aims to accelerate a students’ journey to becoming front end web developers and address the current skills gap in Philippines.
154 APC students of Multimedia Arts, Game Development, Information Technology and Computer Science will learn from experienced professionals about coding, front end web development and design thinking. The SkillsBuild Innovation Camp for Web Developers will culminate on March 10, 2021 with a competition where the participants will present to facilitators, stakeholders and potential employers or investors their innovative human-centered web solutions for disaster resiliency
As we accelerate towards a more digitally enabled work environment, the need for new digital skills is set to increase. According to the latest World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report findings based on workforce trends in 20 economies, over 42% of all jobs will change significantly by 2022 and require new technical and soft skills.
To close this gap, IBM launched SkillsBuild in 2019 as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives for education and skills, to help job seekers upskill, reskill and reach their professional goals. IBM and its global ecosystem of learning partners ensure SkillsBuild is able to deliver the best possible experience for its users by providing them with purposefully curated relevant technology and professional content, skills badges, coaching, and project-based learning.
The SkillsBuild Innovation Camp for Web Developers’ curriculum is built from IBM’s SkillsBuild online learning platform and is supported by partners. The Department of Science and Technology – Science and Technology Information Institute (DOST-STII) and ARISE Philippines, a private sector alliance for disaster resilient societies, will be providing the disaster risk reduction and resiliency content while CodeDoor, a non-profit organization will enable the students to learn how to code and reach professional levels as developers and digital training content.
During the 12-weeks, students will be exposed to front-end web development and programming skills including HTML, GIT, Javascript, CSS-Pre-processors and CSS, as well as gain globally recognized IBM SkillsBuild badges which can be used later for employment. As a badge earner, a student will be able to demonstrate a foundational understanding of front-end web development concepts, principles, and practices, and a deep understanding of how to use programming languages and frameworks to create web applications. They can also use these skills to pursue and advance their career as a web developer when they graduate.
The program also provides personalized coaching and experiential learning. Students will be participating in weekly touchpoints together with a small team and a coach. They will also have the opportunity to meet web development experts from around the world and grow their professional network.
“IBM is committed to help prepare the Philippines’ future workforce for business and social progress that is being driven by technologies such as Cloud and AI. The SkillsBuild Innovation Camp is one way to hone the interest of students on technology and how it can change their lives and careers,” said Aileen Judan-Jiao, President and Country General Manager for IBM Philippines.
“The camp’s disaster resilience theme is also very significant and timely given the recent natural disasters that have caused the Philippines the loss of lives, infrastructure and natural resources. What makes me really hopeful is that young minds will take on the challenge, through this camp, to become socially responsible citizens who make a difference by developing innovative, sustainable and impactful solutions,” Judan-Jiao added.
Teresita Medado, President of Asia Pacific College said, “IBM SkillsBuild is a strategic opportunity to bridge the academic life of APC students with the ever-evolving digital economy. An entirely unique and dynamic industry-academic ecosystem, IBM SkillsBuild at Asia Pacific College makes possible real-world experiences such as meeting mentors/experts across the globe, acquiring global industry certifications, working in multidisciplinary teams, while developing solutions to real world problems. Most of all, the impact of IBM SkillsBuild is beyond learning skills. When integrated with General Education courses, it is a powerful learning experience towards developing successful behaviors for career success and responsible citizenship in the digital world.”
IBM has been making investments and partnering with governments, educational institutions and businesses around the world to equip the global workforce for emerging “New Collar Jobs”, or jobs that don’t necessarily require traditional 4-year degrees but do require a good amount of skills.
