Good computer science training is key to more IT jobs in RP

SUN EXEC SAYS
Good computer science training is key to more IT jobs in RP

"Training will create jobs," said a Sun Microsystems executive here, as he explained the impact of having more training programs established in local universities and tertiary schools.

"Worldwide, there is a shortage of IT talent," said Matt Thompson, director of the Sun Developer Network and Open Source Programs Office of Sun Microsystems.

"If the Philippines can become a place where high quality IT talent found coming right out of the university, more jobs can be created here," he said.

Thompson said that his experience showed that "training creates the jobs."

Sun Microsystems introduced high-level computer science training in the Philippines in local universities through the Java Education and Development Initiative (JEDI).

Thompson said the JEDI program was initially geared towards teaching Java. But through the years, the program has evolved to include other courses, including mobile applications and security.

Currently, Sun says 273 schools out of 1,600 universities and tertiary schools that have joined the program.

JEDI is a collaborative project of Sun Microsystems and the University of the Philippines Java Resource Development Center in partnership with Philippine Society for IT Educators (PSITE). It was launched in February 2005 in a PSITE convention in Cagayan de Oro City.

To date, the JEDI program has rolled out seven courses, with three additional courses being developed, including one on "Sun SPOT," a programmable object technology developed in Sun's experimental labs.

Sun SPOT will be introduced in the JEDI program by June 2008.
By Erwin Oliva - INQUIRER.net