Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 11927)
The short title of Republic Act No. 11927 is the "Philippine Digital Workforce Competitiveness Act."
The State recognizes the transformation due to digitalization and aims to enhance the skills and competitiveness of the Philippine workforce in digital technology and innovations, ensuring all Filipino workers have access to digital skills and competencies at par with global standards and encouraging digital innovations and entrepreneurship.
Digital workforce refers to any natural person who engages in remunerated activity through the use of digital skills and digital technology, regardless of work or employment arrangement, whether as a regular employee or freelancer.
The Inter-Agency Council is the primary planning, coordinating, and implementing body promoting the development, enhancement, and competitiveness of the Philippine digital workforce, ensuring Filipino youth, students, and workers have skills and competencies at par with global standards and promoting digital innovations and entrepreneurship.
The Inter-Agency Council is chaired by NEDA and composed of DOLE, DTI, DICT, DOST, DILG, DepEd, CHED, and TESDA.
The Inter-Agency Council is responsible for promoting the digital workforce, conducting digital skills mapping, formulating digital skills roadmaps, designing upskilling and training programs, encouraging technological innovations, providing support and incentives, establishing a centralized web portal, and creating committees and secretariats.
LGUs are tasked to create local policies supporting and promoting digital technology growth, provide incentives for technological innovations, and ensure digital careers and innovations thrive in their communities.
PESOs must develop and maintain job vacancy webpages, create digital help desks for job seekers, facilitate access to crowdwork and digital jobs, maintain a localized digital skills registry, and conduct virtual job fairs.
The DICT, DBM, DPWH, and other agencies shall ensure universal access to high-speed, quality, affordable internet by prioritizing ICT infrastructure development, while the DILG and DICT jointly assess the e-readiness of LGUs to ensure a thriving digital workforce ecosystem.
The Inter-Agency Council is authorized to enter public-private partnerships to implement training, skills development, and certification programs in various areas such as web development, animation, digital marketing, virtual assistance, and other evolving skills.
Incentives include scholarships and subsidies for training and certifications, subsidies for coworking facilities, low-interest credit assistance for equipment acquisition, priority access to DTI support for digital entrepreneurs and MSMEs, and other possible incentives to promote digital technology and skills.
The third week of June is designated as Digital Workforce Week to promote awareness of digital jobs, government assistance, trainings, certifications, and digital career and business opportunities.
The Act ensures digital inclusion by considering the special needs of disadvantaged sectors such as persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, senior citizens, and those in geographically isolated areas in designing digital programs and projects.
Within six months from the Act's effectivity, NEDA, DOLE, DTI, DICT, DOST, DILG, DepEd, CHED, TESDA, and other stakeholders shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the implementation of the Act.
The Inter-Agency Council and implementing agencies must submit an annual report to Congress by June 30 each year on the status of the Act's implementation.