GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/26 June) – At least 1,630 residents here have acquired computer skills through various free training programs offered by the city government in the last two months.
Percival Pasuelo, executive assistant for information technology of the city mayor’s office, said the training programs were part of the multimedia boot camp launched last month by the local government under its flagship SHEEP-Computer Literacy Program (CLP).
“A total of 1630 participants so far completed our free computer trainings and some of the trainees have already received job placements using their acquired skills,” he said.
SHEEP stands for Social Transformation, Human Empowerment, Economic Diversification, Environment Security and Regeneration and Participatory Governance and Transparency, which are the city’s main
development thrusts.
The city government earlier launched the CLP as a major component of the SHEEP program’s education-related initiatives.
Pasuelo said the training program mainly covered modules on call center training, digital caricature making, web and video blogging, structured query language or SQL, introductory bookkeeping, basic photo editing, audio visual presentation making, digital recording and band performance, electronic music notation as well as “Facebook for Senior Netizens.”
The trainings were conducted by SHEEP-CLP in its offices at the city’s Mabuhay IT or Information Technology Park and the newly-established speech laboratories at the Lagao National High School, Irineo Santiago National High School of Metro Dadiangas and Dadiangas North High School.
In a statement, SHEEP-CLP said among the “most sought-after and head-turner” training was the digital caricature making, which attracted emerging local graphic artists from the out-of-school youths as well as elementary, high school and college students.
“At the end of the one-day training, participants were able to technically trace an existing digital photo in JPG format resembling a somewhat caricature effect. (As a result), some serious participants were able to establish their own home-based caricature business,” it said.
In the audio-visual presentation or AVP making training, SHEEP-CLP noted that students, teachers, out-of-school youths and Alternative Learning Systems or ALS beneficiaries learned techniques on how to create professional looking slideshow presentations, aside from the point-and-click PowerPoint slides.
Participants were able to create their own simple presentation but can be enhanced along the way depending on their need and deliverables.
Usually, presentation creators can only produce a stunning slideshow if there is a deadline and while on pressure to complete the package. It is where artistry comes out.
Out of 111 graduates of its Business English-Call Center training, it said 35 participants were able to land jobs in local call centers.
“Right now, an additional ALS graduates and unemployed youths are undergoing training to become call center agents,” it added. (Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews)