51-year-old Thomas Villanueva has been programming software applications for as long as he can remember.  In 1983, he created applications using Basic Cobol Assembler with a company called Interface. He authored the Computer Science course of the Lyceum of the Philippines, taught in the Technological Institute of the Philippines, and internationally, was among the topnotch Visual Basic, Visual FoxPro and Visual C++ programmers of Saudia Airlines. Today, Villanueva adds another feather on his cap.  Along with 29 others, he graduated from the TESDA-led PGMA Training for Work Scholarship Program held at Winsource Business Solutions, Inc. "I'm just upgrading my skill," the unassuming  expert said.

Java and J2EE class instructor Jess Dale dela Cruz takes pride in his class. "They did not just learn how to code, they developed the analytical thinking behind creating the codes," he said, explaining that analysis was important when creating version upgrades and debugging in the future.

The scholars finished a 45-day course and can now be employed or start their own business creating E-commerce sites, a highly profitable enterprise considering a myriad of businesses are being conducted via the internet these days.

Sixteen scholars also graduated from the Cobol progamming course. Instructor Bolet Calleja, an IT Consultant and Cobol mainframe programmer since the '80s, said the hardest part was teaching his students, mostly youngsters used to latter programming languages, to "undo." "I taught the group that Cobol is involved in big installations like banks. They now understand, when they see an ATM for example, that there is a bigger banking system behind the GUI (graphic user interface) that they see on the ATM screen," he said.

It was a 30-day well-spent for scholar Aurora Jenalyn Vivero who resigned from her job when she knew of TESDA's scholarship program. "It is a great opportunity. Cobol Training can cost up to P40,000 elsewhere. Aside from getting the training for free, TESDA also gave us a training allowance," she said. Vivero looks forward to a long-term employment as mainframe programmer with banks. "Cobol is a stable language. It will not go away even if new languages are developed. I'm happy I invested the time," she concludes.

Winsource Business Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of the Winace Philippings Holdings, Inc., chaired by businessman Teodorico T. Haresco, Jr., is TESDA's parter institution for the PGMA Training for Work Scholarship Program. Winsource's Recruitment Processing Outsourcing (RPO) unit helps place the scholars into profitable jobs after they graduate. With Winsource also expanding their business process outsourcing unit, scholars have the advantage of being hired straight from graduation.