L-R: Jon Lang (DDLS); Mike Calma (DDLS) and Jokin Aboitiz (Aboitiz Impact Ventures)
DDLS, a corporate IT training provider in Australia, has opened its first training campus in the Philippines as part of plans to expand into Asia Pacific.
Located in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, the 500sqm facility houses seven training rooms in a bid to enhance the technology skills of students and IT professionals across the country, backed by online tests and certifications.
Central to expansion efforts will be Microsoft, with the business - which officially launched in 2019 - already training more than 300 students on the vendor’s courses, in addition to up-skilling in IT service management, data science and cyber security.
“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 Jon Lang, CEO of DDLS.
“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.”
Operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of EdventureCo, DDLS joined forces with Aboitiz Impact Ventures in March 2019 to bring IT training to the Philippines.
“The Philippines campus was designed to be conducive for learning, to match the quality of instruction that our trainers are able to impart,” added Mike Calma country general manager of Philippines at DDLS.
“The campus will prepare students to meet the demand for talent in cyber security, DevOps, cloud and others through skill development, with technology that is at the forefront of this digital future.”
In Australia, DDLS became the first Microsoft Gold Certified Partner for Learning Solutions through the provision of end-to-end training solutions across the vendor’s suite of technologies.
The business was formerly owned by Dimension Data - now NTT - and was acquired for $4.7 million by asset management company, Arowana International in December 2017.
“Our vision for DDLS is to offer agile and accessible high-quality IT training,” said Jokin Aboitiz, president of Aboitiz Impact Ventures. “These skills have never been more relevant 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.”
