Microsoft Philippines, together with the Department of Education (DepEd), launched the second phase of the DepEd Oplan TAWID — Technology Assisted Work Immersion Delivery — a focused skilling program that aims to provide relevant industry immersion experience and hiring opportunities to graduating DepEd Senior High School (SHS) students.
By providing training courses on in-demand 21st-century skills, soft skills, digital literacy, and more, the program endeavors to bridge their respective skill sets—aligning them with industry requirements for internship and entry level roles. Moreover, it squarely addresses one of DepEd’s key learning delivery objectives: to liberate students from poverty, more so during this pandemic.
Alongside Integrating the training activities with the Senior High School curriculum, Oplan TAWID allows for feedback to be given to the DepEd curriculum development team, in order to further improve industry alignment and student readiness capabilities.
The mounting of DepEd’s Oplan TAWID follows the successful nationwide implementation of the “Building an Impactful Resume and Online Professional Brand” program mounted in May last year — a joint initiative of Microsoft Philippines and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines — where DepEd learners were upskilled on online skilling platforms and 1 million LinkedIn profiles were created.
Ensuring student readiness in the new digital economy
Envisioned as a student employability program, various private sector partners in the communications, technology, and BPO space have been tapped for Oplan TAWID, which makes available virtual training courses on mandatory Microsoft classes, a BPO Career Channel Course, a Reading Progress mandatory class, a 21st Century Skills Assessment course, Career Coaching, and Industry Work Immersions, among others, all conducted via Microsoft Teams.
Furthermore, participants can also take certification exams towards becoming a Microsoft Office Specialist or they may choose instead to take the Cloud Fundamentals Training Path. Additionally, students will also go through intensive reading and communications classes through Microsoft’s Reading Progress application.
Alorica answers the call to nation building
As a global leader in customer experience solutions, Alorica is proud to take part in this collective effort among key industry partners — with the aim of addressing the lack of knowledge, skills and work experience amongst students — thus concretizing the company’s commitment towards nation-building and creating a better future for students who are skilled but need deeper BPO industry experience.
Specifically, through Alorica’s participation, students who enroll in the Teams Classes for Work Immersion will receive open trainings, take part in work immersion projects, and will receive job offer announcements. Moreover, they will also undergo job interviews and possible recruitment at Alorica after passing the exams and English language assessments.
“We continue to face very challenging times not to mention, a fast changing workplace where keeping abreast of the latest industry trends and developments is not only critical but likewise expected,” says Alorica Talent Acquisition Sourcing and Recruitment Marketing Director, Marvin Vinluan. “Alorica’s participation in Oplan TAWID allows us to directly enable future BPO industry workers — senior high school students — to be employment ready by equipping them with real world exposure and experience, alongside all the skills and knowledge necessary for them to succeed.”
Since 2018, Alorica has accepted 628 onsite and virtual interns from 80 participating schools across the country, providing them exposure to a real workplace environment specifically in the IT, Human Resources, Administration, Finance and Recruitment departments.
It is hoped that through Oplan TAWID, the participating students will achieve a higher proficiency in the English language, develop cognitive flexibility, problem solving skills, as well as an enhanced understanding of tasks assigned. Moreover, the promotion of cultural sensitivity towards other cultures and the appreciation of other people.