About PhilNITS

What is PhilNITS? PNS 2030:2003

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ABOUT US:

The Philippine National I.T. Standards (PhilNITS) Foundation, Inc. formerly known as the Japanese I.T. Standards Exams of the Philippines (JITSE-Phil) Foundation, Inc., is a non-stock, non-profit, non-government organization that is implementing an I.T Certification Program from I.T. standards adopted from Japan, with the support of the Department of Trade & industry (DTI) of the Philippines and the Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry (METI) of Japan. JITSE-Phil Foundation was registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission on April 10,2002 and set up its first office at the Penthouse of the Prince Bldg, in Rada Street, Legazpi Village Makati city,

A week after its incorporation, the Japan I.T. Engineers Examination Center (JITEC) represented by its President, Mr. Takao Tominaga, signed a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with the JITSE-Phil Foundation, represented by its Founding President, Ms. Ma. Corazon M. Akol in ceremonies held at the Shangrila Manila Hotel and witnessed by then Ambassador Ara of Japan, Secretary Mar Roxas of DTI, Secretary Virgilio Pena of ITECC, Mr. Yoshikai, Deputy Director General of METI, and Mr. Sakai, Commercial Attache of Japan to the Philippines.

Mutual Recognition Agreement Signing between the Japan IT Engineers Examination Center (JITEC), represented by its President, Mr. Takao Tominaga and JITSE-Phil Foundation, Inc., represented by its President, Ms. Maricor M. Akol, on April 17, 2002

DTI started to support PhilNITS in 2003 by providing PhilNITS with its office space at the 3rd Floor of the Oppen Building in Makati City, then in 2005, at the DTI Region 7 Office at 2nd Floor of the WDC Building in Cebu City and in 2007, at the DTI Region 11 office at the 5th Floor, Mintrade Bldg. in Davao City. With the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between JITEC and PhilNITS, PhilNITS is able to receive technical support from Japan. JITEC has been providing guidance, training, necessary hardware/software programs, and the documentation required in implementing the Standards on the Fundamentals of I.T. Engineers (FE) Examination, Level 2, and in Software Design and Development Engineers (SW) Examination, Level 3 which has been renamed Applied IT Engineer. (AP) Examination. In 2009, a new examination was introduced by JITEC of the Information Technology Promotions Agency (IPA). This is the IT Passport Examination, Level 1.

On May 29, 2003, the Bureau of Product Standards (BPS) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), after due consultation with the National Computer Center (NCC), accepted JITSE as the Phil. National Standard - PNS 2030:2003 Information Technology Engineers Skills Standards

On May 30,2003, after an evaluation of the results of the First Certification Exams conducted by JITSE-Phil Foundation on the Fundamentals of IT Engineers (FE), the Ministry of Justice of Japan recognized JITSE as the Philippine Nihon Joho Gijutsu Hyojun Shiken Zaidan. With this official recognition by the Ministry of Justice, the FE Certificate, more popularly called the JITSE Certificate and now the PhilNITS Certificate, can be used as a valid document for processing the work visas of IT professionals bound for Japan.

With the Asia IT Initiative Program (AITI) of the Ministry of Economy Trade & Industry (METI) of Japan, PhilNITS is able to receive technical support from Japan through the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the Association for Overseas Technical Scholarships (AOTS) and the Center of the International Cooperation on Computerization (CICC) and the Japan Overseas Development Corporation (JODC).

JETRO has provided PhilNITS since 2003, through the Japan Expert Service Abroad (JEXSA) Project, technical experts and the training facilities in the PhilNITS offices in Makati, Cebu and Davao. AOTS has provided Training Courses in the Philippines (in the various offices of PhilNITS as well as in some schools in provinces where PhilNITS has no Training Center) and have awarded scholarships for training in Japan. However, for this Fiscal Year (2010-2011), JETRO has been replaced by the Japan Overseas Development Corporation (JODC) in providing Technical Support to PhilNITS. Initially, JODC grants a long-term Expert and 2 short-term Experts to PhilNITS to help in setting up the IT Professional Examinations Council (ITPEC) Office in the Philippines and another short term expert to conduct training courses for teachers.

Since 2003, through Grants from AOTS, PhilNITS has trained 1,285 IT Professionals in the Philippines and has sent 239 scholars to Japan. Local training for Teachers and IT Professionals on the PhilNITS Certification Programs and on the Japanese language were provided by AOTS for Manila, Cebu and Davao. Training in Japan on the Bridge Systems Engineer Program and on IT Project Management were likewise provided. Local training for Teachers and IT Professionals on the PhilNITS Certification Programs and on the Japanese language were provided by AOTS for Manila, Cebu and Davao. Training in Japan on the Bridge Systems Engineer Program was likewise provided.

CICC has provided several Training programs on Project Management both here and in Japan. However, CICC-sponsored Training has been discontinued since March 2007. CICC has also provided PhilNITS with an e Learning System consisting of the hardware (2 servers and 4 terminals), the software (that can accommodate a maximum of 2000 users) and contents consisting of 24 modules developed by JITEC and CICC and 1 module developed by the Thomson Learning Center, donated by Fujitsu to PhilNITS.( All the modules are made available to the public, 24 by 7, through a subscription fee of P500.00 per month).

Programs / Projects

Conducting Certification Exams nationwide on the IT Passport (IP), Level 1, and the Fundamentals of IT Engineers (FE), Level 2, (Spring and Fall) on the dates agreed upon by ITPEC during the Annual Executive Director’s Meeting (EDM)

Conducting Certification Exams on Software Design & Development (SW) which as just been modified and renamned Applied IT (AP), Level 3, once a year, on the Fall, date agreed upon by ITPEC members.

Conducting Free Training Courses on IT Passport, Fundamentals of IT Engineers (FE) & Applied IT (AP) for Teachers & Company Trainors (formerly funded by Grants from AOTS, CICC, JETRO & JODC), depending on the availability of Donations and Sponsorships.

Conducting Free Summer Training of Teachers, a joint undertaking with the Philippine Society of IT Educators (PSITE) and the Philippine Association of Private Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAPSCU) with PhilNITS providing the lecturers

Guiding and helping in the development of the PhilNITS Society, an organization formed whose only criterion for membership is being PhilNITS-certified

Helping in the implementation the IT Skills Standards (ITSS) of Japan, in coordination with the Philippines Software Industry Association (PSIA).

Planning to conduct an On-Line Exams in cooperation with the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) and a private Company, A+, which will develop the Platform for the On-Line Exams with PhilNITS supplying the Data Base of Questions from Past ITPEC Exams and PSIA doing the marketing to help its Member-companies use the ITPEC Standards as an Assessment Tool for hiring their Software Developers.

Now on its 13th Year of operation and with the termination of both the Japanese & Philippine Governments’ support, planning to expand the Private-Sector Partnerships /Linkages to help sustain the PhilNITS Certification Program

Setting up a Private Corporation , the PhilNITS Corporation , to enter into Trading & Consultancy Projects with the Government & the Private Sector, giving priority to PhilNITS-Certified IT Professionals in its Manpower requirements.

In the ITEE Conference held at the AOTS Yokohama Kenshu Center last Nov. 2005, JITEC and the 6 organizations with MRAs (Mutual Recognition Agreements) with JITEC, decided to form the IT Professionals Examination Council or ITPEC. The members of ITPEC are: the Japan Information Technology Examination Center (JITEC) of Japan, the Multimedia Technology Enhancement & Operations Sendirian Berhad (METEOR) of Malaysia, the Myanmar Computer federation (MCF) of Myanmar, the Japan-Mongolian Information Technology Association (JMITA) of Mongolia, (now replaced by the National I.T. Park, NITP), the Philippine National I.T. Standards Foundation (PhilNITS) of the Philippines, the National Electronics and Computer technology Center (NECTEC) now replaced by National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) of Thailand, and the Vietnam Information Technology Examination and Training Support Center (VITEC) of Vietnam.

In this Agreement, the members decided to have a common exam, on the same agreed upon date and time, and to recognize each other’s Certificate. ITPEC members have been using the same logo to raise public recognition of the examination and have adopted a common marketing strategy. JITEC-IPA expects to establish multi-lateral mutual recognition agreements, and transform ITPEC into a fully Asia-wide organization.

The PhilNITS Certification Exams

Since we started giving the FE Exams in Sept. 8, 2002 up to May 2015, we have given eighteen (25) FE, five (8) AP and three (10) IP Certification Exams. There have been 10,422 FE examinees with 1,517 FE-Certified for a passing rate of 14.6&. There also have been 238 AP examinees out of which 55 are AP certified for a passing rate of 23.11%. For the IP Exams, 5,582 took the exams and 1,176 passed for an average passing rate of 21.7%.

The PhilNITS Society

PhilNITS Foundation , inc. formed the PhilNITS Society (formerly called the JITSE-Phil Society) and registered this with the Security & Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines last Oct. 14, 2002.

The PhilNITS Society is composed of IT Professionals who have passed the PhilNITS FE & AP (formerly called SW) Exams.

Programs / Projects

-Conducting Certification Exams nationwide on the IT Passport (IP), Level 1, and the Fundamentals of IT Engineers (FE), Level 2, twice a year on the First Sunday of April (as long as it does not fall on Holy Week) and usually on the last Sunday of October (as long as it does not fall on the Eid al Fatir Muslim Festival)

-Conducting Certification Exams on Software Design & Development (SW) which has just been modified and renamed Applied IT (AP), Level 3, once a year, on the First Sunday of April, in the same Exam Centers as the FE and IP exams.

-Conducting Free Training Courses on IT Passport, Fundamentals of IT Engineers (FE) & Applied IT (AP) for Teachers & Company Trainors (usually funded by Grants from AOTS, CICC and JETRO). Starting this year, the Japan Overseas Development Corporation (JODC) has replaced JETRO.

-Conducting Free Summer Training of Teachers, a joint undertaking with the Philippine Society of IT Educators PSITE and the Philippine Association of Private Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAPSCU) with PhilNITS providing the lecturers

-Providing Training using the e-Learning System donated by Japan.

-Guiding and helping in the development of the PhilNITS Society, an organization formed whose only criterion for membership is being PhilNITS-certified, in any exam category.

-Helping in the implementation the IT Skills Standards (ITSS) of Japan, in coordination with the Japan Overseas Development Corporation (JODC) and the Philippines Software Industry Association (PSIA).

Officers of the PhilNITS Foundation:

Ms. Ma. Corazon M. Akol- President, Mr. Peter Que- Vice President, Ms. Flora Capili, Corporate Secretary

Contact Information:

Manila Office:

Room 304 FMSG Building #9 Balete Drive cor 3rd St. New Manila Quezon City

Email: registrar@philnits.org

Web www.philnits.org & www.jitse.org

Cebu Office:

Rm. 312-E WDC Bldg

DTI Region 7 Office

Osmena Blvd, Cebu City

Telefax No. (6332) 254-0577

Davao Office

DTI region XI, 5th Floor Mintrade Bldg.

Sales cor Monteverde St. Davao City

Telefax No. (6382) 227-9448