DICT offers free online courses for ECQ-displaced workers, MSMEs

PHILSTAR/MICHAEL VARCAS

THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Friday that it is offering free online courses to workers and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) which have been affected by the government-imposed enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

“The technical training or webinars aim to provide alternative learning opportunities for the working population whose livelihoods were disrupted as the government imposed the quarantine to mitigate the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) threat,” the DICT said in a statement.

It added that MSMEs are also encouraged to participate in the program.

The short courses offered are social media marketing and comprehensive affiliate marketing.

The department said the social media marketing course, which will run for seven days at two hours per session, “focuses on proper management of social media platforms to optimize social campaigns and promote brand growth in the digital market so affected MSMEs can strategize business plans even amidst the pandemic.”

The comprehensive affiliate marketing course is intended for those “who had been rendered jobless by the quarantine… (to) allow them to work freelance jobs.” The course will last 10 days and with 20 further hours of support.

It also plans to offer digital governance training for chief information officers, planning or policy officers, ICT service officers, ICT project managers, management information system (MIS) officers, and ICT practitioners from both government and private organizations.

“All slots for the various tracks had been filled, with training proper expected to run from April 16, 2020 onwards,” the DICT said.

DICT Secretary Gregorio B. Honasan said: “We will continue to work towards the mitigation of the COVID-19 threat for our workers, entrepreneurs and leaders through ICT-enabled capacity-building initiatives in line with the directives of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and in support of the measures issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.”

Recently, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) offered free online training courses in electrical systems and electronics, tourism, entrepreneurship, ICT, and so-called 21st century skills.

It said a total of 19,598 students signed up between March 16 and March 29. — Arjay L. Balinbin