Accenture launches online training program to develop ‘soft skills’

ACCENTURE Philippines (Accenture) said it launched the “Skills to Succeed Academy” online training initiative to improve the so-called “soft skills” of jobseekers aged 16 to 24.

The program is part of Accentures’s Skills to Succeed program.

“By the end of 2017, Accenture had equipped 2.2 million with these skills — well on the way to its goal of equipping 3 million people by 2020,” the company said in a statement.

The program, designed and developed by the company, includes three courses and 36 learning modules.

Accenture Country Managing Director Lito T. Tayag during the program’s launch on Thursday said: ”Skills we need now in a digital economy are more than just one area of capability. They encompass a holistic and integrated set of skills.”

Mr. Tayag added in a statement on Thursday, “The Skills to Succeed Academy is part of our continuing commitment to building and upskilling Filipino talent through a technology-enabled employment readiness tool that is focused on the soft skills — an equally important set of attributes around work ethic, attitude as a team player and communications skills.”

Accenture collaborated with the Technological Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) on the Skills to Succeed to Academy which also aims to help technical vocation (TVI) graduates.

Non government organizations (NGOs) backing the program include Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), Philippine Business for Social Progress Inc. (PBSP), Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development, Inc. (FIT-Ed), and Bayan Academy for Social Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Development, Inc.

TESDA Director General Guiling Mamondiong said in a statement on Thursday, “We are delighted to collaborate with Accenture, PBSP, PBEd, FIT-Ed, and Bayan Academy on the Skills to Succeed Academy which aims to help Filipino jobseekers enhance their employability skills.”

He added, “This online learning initiative demonstrates the importance of collaboration between the private and public sectors in making education and training accessible to more Filipinos.”

Accenture Advanced Technology Centers in the Philippines Managing Director Ma. Nescel A. Asuncion said during the program’s launch that after a soft launch is August half of those registered had completed one module of the Skills to Succeed Academy.

“We had a soft launch in August. To date, we have seen 4,000 people registered and 2,000 have completed at least one module,” she said, adding that the initiative spread through word of mouth prior to the official launch. —