Friday, March 29, 2024

Private sector group, gov’t launch ‘GoDigital Pilipinas’ movement

The Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) has convened the GoDigital Pilipinas (GDP) movement with the vision of empowering Filipino citizens through technology for a connected and inclusive society.

PSAC is composed of business leaders and experts across six main sectoral groups — agriculture, digital infrastructure, jobs, healthcare, build-build-build, and tourism.

The PSAC Digital Infrastructure group was formed to provide Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with practical recommendations that promote wider Internet access and advance digitization initiatives.

The group is led by UnionBank chief technology and operations officer Henry Aguda, who is joined by PLDT president and CEO Al Panlilio, Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu, Converge CEO and co-founder Dennis Anthony Uy, and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) chief operating officer Ramon Jocson.

The GoDigital movement was officially launched on Monday, Jan. 30, following the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) public forum “From Plan to Action: Philippine Development Plan 2023 – 2028” held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

The new campaign is aimed at heeding the call of the government to address the risk of a digital divide by promoting digital literacy and building a sustainable digital ecosystem.

GoDigital aligns with the government’s six-year socioeconomic agenda, and beyond, with its whole-of-society approach encapsulated in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP).

The PDP’s ultimate goal is to reinvigorate job creation and accelerate poverty reduction for a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient Philippines.

The public forum “From Plan to Action” highlights the key features of the PDP and the next steps both government and non-government sectors are taking to implement it.

“PSAC Digital Infrastructure is ready to support the nation’s development blueprint and digitalization agenda through the GoDigital Pilipinas (GDP) movement. Working together, the public and private sector will ensure that every Filipino has the tools and the skills to thrive in our revitalized society,” said Aguda.

GoDigital complements the public sector digital initiatives through the five-PACES plan:

  1. The creation of Policies and programs that promote the development of digital infrastructure and services;
  2. The expansion of Access to digital technologies and digital literacy training to all citizens;
  3. The development of digital skills and capabilities;
  4. The promotion of digital Entrepreneurship and innovation; and
  5. The security of digital rights and privacy

Regarding the development of digital skills and capabilities through upskilling, the movement focuses on sectors of society that may need specialized training and mentoring tailored to their needs.

This includes rural workers, who number more than 10 million nationwide, as well as the elderly, persons deprived of liberty, indigenous people, and those differently abled.

It draws on the success of public and private sector digital upskilling initiatives, including UnionBank’s partnership with Tahanang Walang Hagdanan Inc. (TWHI) training and employing differently-abled Filipinos as data analysts.

Initially designed as one-off events, UnionBank envisioned lasting initiatives that upskilled and provided employment opportunities. As a result, UnionBank built a Command Center on TWHI to provide on-site training, leading to all initial training candidates being employed by UnionBank to do remote monitoring of transactions.

In their meeting with Marcos last Jan. 12, the PSAC Digital Infrastructure group cited a 2022 study conducted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and LinkedIn.

The study found that on average, employers required eight out of the last 10 candidates hired in the past year to possess basic digital literacy and skills, and four of the last 10 hires to possess advanced digital literacy and skills.

Among Asean countries, however, the Philippines lags behind in terms of basic information and communications technology (ICT) skills.

Through contextualized mentoring and training under the GoDigital movement, PSAC said every Filipino can receive the basic digital skills education they deserve.

“With the insight of PSAC Digital Infrastructure and its partners, that education will assuredly be relevant and current to meet the demands of the economy,” it said.

The GoDigital movement is convened by the PSAC Digital Infrastructure group members, including UnionBank, PLDT, Globe, and Converge ICT.

In addition to private sector partners, GoDigital is a collaboration with TESDA and the Inter-Agency on Philippine Digital Workforce.

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