Today, StackTrek announced what it’s calling an “ambitious, all-hands-on-deck” Code Your Future initiative to get young men and women in the Philippines coding. This is a joint effort with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the education industry with estimated 150 participating universities, and the private industry, including some of the biggest tech companies in the country.
DICT’s primary advocate is the Office of the Undersecretary for Government Digital Broadcast Television and the Digitization of the Entertainment Industry Sector, headed by Undersecretary Arnold “Ali” Atienza.
The objective is to transform the next generation into new successful tech professionals.
Highest Paid Profession
Information Technology (IT) is now the highest-paid profession in the Philippines. No other subject will open as many doors in the 21st century as programming. It’s the new key to eliminating gender inequities, closing the income gap, and to reducing poverty.
Driving Successful Tech Careers
Under the initiative is a series of activities designed to help people who are interested in having a successful tech career, from non-coders to experienced developers.
There are online programming trainings that teach non-coders how to write their first line of codes. There are hands-on interview kits that prepare programming graduates for their technical interviews. There are online meet-and-greet, networking sessions and career fairs with tech companies.
Progress for Every Filipino
“In the Philippines, a person who learns programming and goes on to become a programmer, his/her annual average salary is Php 465k and millions more in lifetime earnings. And getting that person who’s the first in his or her family to learn coding effectively transforms the earning potential in that family. That’s irreversible progress. You don’t need to be interested in coding. You just need to be interested in getting a good life“, said Bill Yuen, the founder of StackTrek.
“Under the CHIP Conceptual Framework, which stands for Connect, Harness, Innovate, and Protect, which was launched last year, we at the DICT are executing capacity building plans aimed at providing different sectors of the community with the relevant skills and knowledge to be more digitally competitive. This initiative also comes at a great time during this pandemic, as it will provide a lot of opportunities for Filipinos to develop their skills and become more internationally competitive,” said Undersecretary Ali Atienza.
Jumpstarting Your Tech Career
To pilot the initiative is the Code Your Future Webinar happening on April 29 where participants learn how to kick off their IT career. The session covers tech career trends and steps in getting started in programming. For total beginners, they’ll be able to code their first program in 15 minutes.