By JAMES A. LOYOLA
DDLS, Australia’s largest provider of corporate ICT and cyber security training has officially opened its first training campus in the Philippines through a partnership with the Aboitiz group.
In a statement, Aboitiz Equity Ventures said the opening of the new campus in the Philippines marks DDLS’ expansion into Asia Pacific and provides professionals in the Philippines an opportunity to take up a career in a booming industry.
DDLS Philippines (DDLS Aboitiz Inc.) is a joint venture between EdventureCo, a leading vocational and professional education and training (VPET) group in Asia Pacific, and Aboitiz Impact Ventures (AIV), a wholly owned unit of AEV.
“With DDLS present in every major city in Australia, we wanted to replicate this model in Southeast Asia, and the Philippines showed the most potential.” said DDLS Chief Executive Jon Lang.
Lang noted “having skilled workers in the ICT industry who can monitor, secure and mitigate against any risks is a requirement that the industry has identified, and DDLS is responding to these needs by training the next generation of professionals in a new state-of-the-art facility.”
Located in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, the training facility consists of seven state-of-the-art training rooms, equipped with the latest technology as well as telepresence technology to help students and IT professionals master skillsets necessary to immediately enter the workforce.
“The Philippines campus was designed to be conducive for learning, to match the quality of instruction that our trainers are able to impart,” said DDLS Philippines Country General Manager Mike Calma.
He added that “the campus will prepare students to meet the demand for talent in cybersecurity, DevOps, cloud and others through skill development, with technology that is at the forefront of this digital future.”
As DDLS gains traction, it does not lose sight of its long-term goals. “Our vision for DDLS is to offer agile and accessible high-quality IT training,” said AIV President Jokin Aboitiz.
He explained that “these skills have never been more relevant and this style of teaching has never been more appropriate. The world is changing quickly and education needs to adapt. We need a modern way of training the modern workforce. We at Aboitiz have always believed in the value of education and the role it plays in advancing business and communities.”