THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said it hopes to launch an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tech Academy in October to upskill the ecozone workforce.
PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga said the academy is a joint project with Stacktrek and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), with the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines as an industry partner.
“It aims to train thousands of Filipinos, especially information technology (IT) workers, high school and college students, and job seekers, on various AI tools and solutions,” Mr. Panga said via Viber.
“This is to prepare the Filipino workforce to be future-ready as we host multinational companies in frontier technologies and advanced manufacturing,” he added.
The project lead is Stacktrek, which has invested in a two-storey training facility in Cebu.
“This is scheduled for launch in October,” he said.
Asked about future plans, he said PEZA is also looking at building facilities in Metro Manila and other key cities and provinces.
“We need to upskill and reskill our workforce as we are facilitating investments in PEZA that are employing generative AI and AI-assisted technologies,” he said.
“These applications can be found in frontier technologies and advanced manufacturing,” he added.
He said the academy will help the country adapt to the needs and demands of investors and remain competitive as an investment destination.
“Our English-proficient, creative, and tech-savvy workers—given their strong exposure to AI tools and solutions—can provide the needed talent and scale for AI tech investors looking at the Philippines for their offshoring operations,” he said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile