The Animation Council of the Philippines Inc. (ACPI) has signed a partnership agreement wit the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) to offer free animation training to the public.
The program aims to train scholars in Animation NC II, 2D Digital Animation NC III, and 3D Animation NC III under its Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP).
Tesda director-general Joel Villanueva said the agency will be infusing over P8 million worth of scholarship vouchers for pre-employment training and retooling of incoming workers in the animation industry.
In a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed on April 24, Tesda and ACPI said they foresee the partnership to “create a pool of qualified, globally competitive, and job-ready workforce needed by the animation industry.”
“The animation industry is an exciting prospect to consider. It is lucrative, in-demand, and has unlimited potential for growth locally and internationally,” Villanueva said.
“We urge our youth to take chance in learning the skill. By securing early training, they can position themselves at the leading edge of an emerging industry where sky is the limit,” he said.
The partnership aims to yield at least 80 percent employment rate within six months after the completion of the program.
The amount that would be coming from Tesda would be managed by ACPI, which will supervise the training.
According to the agreement, ACPI will endorse training institutions with Tesda-registered programs to undertake the training of qualified applicants.
ACPI will prioritize enterprise-based and school-based technical vocational institutions with high employment track record in the allocation of the scholarship vouchers in the interest of higher employment rate, ease of facilitation and monitoring of training sessions, and proper use of the scholarship vouchers.
ACPI also commits to form a fund replenishment scheme to extend the mileage of the scholarship program.
A contribution to a Talent Development Fund (TDF) will be made by an ACPI-member company every time it absorbs/hires successful graduates of TWSP. The TDF will be developed, managed, and utilized solely by ACPI to sustain training of their needed workforce.
“I believe there are currently more jobs available in the animation industry than there are trained professionals to take up these jobs,” Villanueva said.
“We hope this training can create a pool of talent for the industry,” he added.
