The Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) and IT Promotion Agency of Japan (IPA) recently announced a mutual cooperation agreement to establish the Skill Standards for IT Professionals (ITSS).

This is a step to further improve and increase employment in the Philippines’ information technology (IT) and software development sector which both fall under the broader category of the BPO-IT industry.

The Skills Standards framework is a career model that helps IT and software companies develop talent and ensure growth.

In an article published in teamasia.com, IPA Vice Chairman Hisaya Tanaka said, “With the introduction of the ITSS, an IT professional’s skill level can be recognized globally. This can enhance business cooperation.” Tanaka added that countries that implement ITSS, such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Thailand, can “mutually benefit from the partnership.”

The agreement signed by the Philippine Software Industry Association and the IT Promotion Agency of Japan aims to reach more businesses and establish what has been described as a “more globally unified career structure” which in turn would help make it easier for IT professionals to secure employment.

Other benefits of using the ITSS model include opening up more opportunities for employment for Filipinos with software development and IT backgrounds and helping build a qualified pool of talent for IT and software development jobs such as software quality assurance analyst, database administrator, programmers, application support analyst, analytics trainee, web and software developer, compliance officer, network engineer, quality specialist, systems coordinator, analyst programmer, automation and QA tester, software tester, technical support specialist, and IT manager, just to name a few.