The expanding potential of data science and technology allows endless opportunities for Filipinos to land a job in the IT industry. However, only 50% of the female population of working-age are in the workforce with a larger number in unsecured jobs in the Philippines – which means that as an emerging country in the technology field, gendered gaps can be widely observed.
To advance the interests of women in the industry, For The Women Foundation (FTW) created a foreground to empower Filipino women to shift careers and be part of the growing talent pool in the technology industry. FTW is a non-profit organization that has a mission “to change women’s lives through intensive tech-skills training to enable upward career mobility”. They have been providing free world-class technology training in the country since 2018. With a 76% placement rate, their scholars are hired in various roles in the field such as data analyst, data scientist, data engineer, and more.
“Technology is the way to democratise education where women could really be involved. And we wanted it to be sustainable, it has to be education to employment. To do this, we aimed for a short yet sweet solution and we measure it right away. We identified job profiles that are resilient and with high, continuing demand in the job market… We wanted it to be a long-term gain for our scholars and that is why we focused on data science.”
Cara Wilson, Founder of For The Women Foundation
Championing female analytics talent in the Philippines and to mark its 25th year in the industry, Thakral One sponsored a capstone grant for a number of FTW’s scholars. The capstone project culminated after the scholar’s 14-week training, allowing the scholars to apply their new skills in the program and experience real-world scenarios. The Business Analytics team of Thakral One provided guidance and mentorship until the completion of the scholarship program, bridging both technical and soft skills that are essential for the scholars to be successful in the field.
With the growing need for experts in technology and data science, Thakral One aims to encourage more individuals to join the industry. Opportunities offered in the field continue to expand as organisations put focus on digitisation efforts.
“Empowering women to join us in the technology industry will not only bridge gender gaps but also address skills and talent demands,” says Millet Egasani, SVP & Philippines Country Head of Thakral One. “The future of the IT industry in the Philippines is bright and building a career in this field could provide meaningful employment that can uplift both competencies and living standards.”
“As a consulting and technology services company with strong regional presence in Asia and the Middle East, Thakral One is committed to make a difference by ensuring that opportunities in the technology industry is accessible to all,” says Grace De Ocampo, SVP & Consulting Head for Business Analytics of Thakral One. “The scholars’ training is an opportunity for them to learn through experience and their capstone project widened their perspective by learning the best practices from our very own Business Analytics leads.”
Thakral One as FTW’s industry collaborator enables them to actualise their advocacy, provide free education for deserving scholars, and expand their employment network. This partnership model not only help elevate skills and provide better learning opportunities, but also becomes an avenue to remove social barriers and uplift the lives of people. In the next article, get to know the Thakral One cohort of FTW’s Data Science Bootcamp.
About For The Women Foundation
FTW Foundation is a Philippine non-profit organization that up-skills deserving women through intensive training in tech with the goal of creating a community of Filipinas empowered to break through traditional career barriers.
Their Data Science program consists of a 14-week intensive tech training course in the areas of data science and AI, giving selected scholars a head start and the confidence to compete in the industry. FTW graduates earn an average of +154% post program completion. Beyond training, the organization also provides a support system to develop strong, resilient and gritty women that thrive wherever they go – inspiring equal opportunity and driving systemic change in the country.
One of the Founders and the Executive Director of the program is Cara Wilson who lives by the FTW slogan – For the Women, For the Win, For the World!”
Learn more at www.ftwfoundation.org.
About Thakral One
Thakral One is a consulting and technology services company focused on value-added bespoke capabilities, enhancing decisions through analytics, and unlocking possibilities in the cloud. The company engages clients collaboratively and believes in grounded, practical outcomes. This approach is possible through partnerships with leading global technology providers. Headquartered in Singapore, the company’s pan-Asian footprint covers 16 countries with 1000+ consultants.
In the Philippines, Thakral One has been providing technology consulting, solution implementation, and managed services since 1998. The Philippines is a key unit for Thakral One as its Centre of Excellence in Data & Analytics with strong delivery capability of 100+ consultants. Its portfolio of practices in Technology & Digital Solution – Software Engineering, DevOps, and Cloud – enable enterprises across industries such as Banking, Telecommunications, Insurance, Retail, and Hospitality in their digital transformation journeys.
