OWWA Information Technology Program - Soccsksargen

Activities, processes and steps involved:

Microsoft works with OWWA and local NGOs to establish community technology learning centres (CTLC) and provide IT-literacy trainings to OWWA registered members and their dependents. As the target clients are migrant workers and their families, learning centres have been established in local communities in the Philippines and destinations abroad with high numbers of OFW families. Microsoft provides the software and hardware requirements, training materials and technical assistance. OWWA provides the annual budget for the operation of learning centres in the Philippines and abroad.

The modules for the on-going training program cover:

- Computer Fundamentals (3 days)
- Database Fundamentals (2 days)
- Presentation Fundamentals (2 days)
- Digital Media Fundamentals (2 days)
- Spreadsheet Fundamentals (2 days)
- Internet and Worldwide Web Fundamentals (2 days)
- Word Processing Fundamentals (2 days)
- Web Design Fundamentals (2 days)

Tulay is part of the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Community Technology Skills Program, a global initiative focused on improving lifelong learning for underserved youth and adults by providing technology skills through non-government organizations around the world.

Target beneficiaries:

The project targets overseas Filipino workers and their families.

Partnerships:

The OWWA is engaged with Microsoft in the management of this practice, as well as NGOs.

Main outputs:

Since the program was launched in 2004, more than 15 CLTCs have been established within the Philippines, and another 8 training centres have been set up abroad. Thousands of OFWs and their families have benefited from the educational course.

Relevant criteria for assessment:

1. Respect for migrant worker rights
The program is in line with international norms for the protection of migrant workers' rights.

2. Relevance
The Philippines has one of the highest migrating populations in the region and world, with many families within the country that include members having some experience with migration. In this regard the programme is highly relevant and meets the needs of Filipinos overseas and their families, particularly through its emphasis on IT communication skills that will allow families to remain in contact with each other.

3. Additional or spill-over benefits
Through its focus on computer skills, the practice can also be of assistance to participants seeking to work across different sectors or start their own business.

4. (Positive) Impact
The Tulay programme has had a highly positive impact for OFWs and their families since its inception in 2004, benefitting thousands thus far.

5. Potential for replication and extension
The Tulay programme exhibits a high degree of potential for replication and extension. As new computer skills are constantly demanded in a changing workplace, the programme can be adapted through modifying the length or selection of modules offered, to reflect the demands of the local labour market.

The programme in the Philippines served as one of the flagships in Microsoft's Unlimited Potential Community Technology Skills Program (UP-CTSP), with China serving as the other. Following their success, the technology skills programmes were replicated in several other countries, including Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

6. Innovativeness
The public-private partnership element of the programme and its focus on IT skills marks it as a highly innovative programme.

7. Broad-based and participatory
The project works with a broad range of stakeholders, including NGOs in regional centres across the country as well as in countries outside of the Philippines assisting in the training of OFWs.

8. Sustainability
The Government of the Philippines, through the OWWA and its advanced migration management framework, is committed to the support overseas Filipino workers. Microsoft has also demonstrated its commitment as evidenced by the expansion of similar programme partnerships across Asia. Should funding for the programme cease, it has still created a strong groundwork that can be continued for future OFWs.