Philippine government announces financial backing for three-year AI training program
The country’s Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has allocated an initial PHP16.67m (US$330,000) for artificial intelligence training for up to 30,000 personnel. According to Fortunato dela Peña, the DOST secretary, the Sustainability Program for Data Science Reskilling, Training and Adoption – a three-year online initiative organized in association with the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) – will have a total budget of PHP50.84m.
Among those eligible to participate will be government employees, academic staff and representatives of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. Commenting on the need for the latter group to attend, dela Peña said, given AI’s potential threat to jobs in the sector, it was important that BPO personnel had access to such training. In order to deliver on the scheme’s objectives, the DOST has designated the DAP select the trainees and deliver a program that will focus on delivering enhanced data analytics competency. The funding is set to be released prior to the end of the year when the program is due to go live.
