Cebu urged to capitalize on AI and robotics development

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu is told to capitalize on its high creative prowess to seriously pursue the development of talents geared towards high-breed technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.

European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP) executive director Florian Gottein made this statement expressing his confidence of Cebu's rich creative talent, and that this should be utilized much more effectively if Cebu will be able to immediately catch up with the twist and turns of talent demands around the world.

"You have a lot of ingredients here. People are open to technology, large portion of the population speak English. See to it that you see these as opportunities to get ahead of others," said Gottein.

Gottein referred to the booming business process management (BPM) and Information Technology (IT) here, of which active complementary works should be done in terms of talent development to catch with the fast changing demands.

Cebu has been known for its creative edge in the traditional sectors such as furniture, and fashion accessories, among others. It has to expand its perspective as opportunities for highly creative Cebuanos are knocking in the technology and outsourcing sectors.

"Cebuanos are very creative," Gottein said adding that aside from embracing the AI and robotics technology, it also has to polish its edge in game development, graphic design, animation and others.

He said the BPM industry, specifically the huge voice service is currently under-pressure, but if Cebu will be able to shift in developing the knowledge-based outsourcing such as AI and Robotics, its BPM sector will continue to be steadfast regardless of the challenging developments particularly in the voice-related outsourcing services.

Gottein's observation is also confirmed by ECCP president Guenter Taus saying "Cebu has a decent technology-based community," and that the artistic shift should be directed to the modern medium.

Through a proactive adoption of technology to play a vital role in the highly-regarded creative sense of Cebuanos, it could sustain its competitive edge across sectors may it be BPM, manufacturing, among others.

Meanwhile, Accenture Philippines recently announced its commitment to work closely with the academe sector in Cebu to help universities and colleges produce top quality manpower pool.

"We are on initial discussions with colleges and universities in Cebu for closer partnerships. This year, we are focusing on broadcasting and sharing what we know," said Arvin Yason, lead for technology at Accenture-Cebu Delivery Center.

Its initiative to forge a closer work-relationship with the academe sector is to constantly update the manpower shapers or providers (academe) of the new IT and the industry's requirement in terms of skills.

Furthermore, this is also one of Accenture's contributions to push Cebu's potential becoming an "Innovation Center" in the Philippines.

The new IT, the Internet of Things, the rise of AI, Robotics among others are just few of the expertise that the Accenture will share with the academe sector in Cebu. In this way, students will be prepared to enter into the next-level skill requirements of high-value jobs. (FREEMAN)