Microsoft grants TESDA with US$1M in software

By Alexander Villafania
INQ7.net


MICROSOFT Philippines is granting more than one million US dollars worth of software and training assistance to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) as part of their basic computer literacy project called “Kapit Bisig.”

The amount is the single biggest grant from Microsoft to any organization in the Philippines. It will be used to conduct free training of some 1,000 non-government organization members and basic computer literacy for around 7,000 residents of underprivileged communities.

The NGO members trained are expected to pass on what they’ve learned to other underprivileged communities, exemplifying the “training the trainer” concept.

The training will be conducted in TESDA training facilities nationwide.

The Microsoft-TESDA partnership is expected to reach out to 50,000 people in one year.

Secretary Patrician Sto. Tomas of the Department of Labor and Employment said the Microsoft-TESDA project would have a positive impact on the ICT competitiveness of country’s human resources.

She also lauded a previous program of Microsoft with DOLE, called “Tulay” (Bridge), which provides computer training to overseas Filipino workers and their families. Microsoft provided 134,000 US dollars for Tulay.

 

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