Aboitiz pours $10M into tech talent

The Aboitiz Group is investing $10 million to strengthen the country’s technology talent pipeline as artificial intelligence (AI) and data increasingly reshape businesses and the skills companies need.

The investment, committed to the Asian Institute of Management, helped establish the Aboitiz School of Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship, which is developing talent in data science, technology, and entrepreneurship.

The investment has so far supported 290 students pursuing graduate studies in data science and produced more than 160 graduates, adding to the country's pool of workers equipped for an increasingly data-driven economy.

Aboitiz Data Innovation has embedded data and AI solutions across business units, while the group continues to build workforce capabilities in AI, cybersecurity and other emerging fields.

Aboitiz Group President and CEO Sabin M. Aboitiz said in a statement on Wednesday that the rise of AI is also putting a greater premium on human capabilities such as judgment, adaptability and leadership.

“The value of this program is not just to help you finish school but to prepare you for what comes after it,” Aboitiz told scholars at a recent gathering of the Aboitiz Future Leaders program, pointing to a world that is “changing and accelerating very, very rapidly.”

As technology takes on more workplace functions, Aboitiz said skills such as judgment, curiosity, character, creativity, empathy and leadership would become even more valuable.

“AI can give you an answer in seconds, but it cannot decide what kind of person you want to be. That part is still up to you,” he said.

Apart from graduate-level technology education, the group is building its talent pipeline through the Aboitiz Future Leaders Scholarship Program, which provides financial assistance and leadership development opportunities to students.

At this year's Scholars’ Day, the Aboitiz Foundation welcomed 11 new scholars and conducted learning sessions on mental health and financial literacy.

“The Aboitiz Future Leaders Program is not only about academics,” Aboitiz Foundation President Ginggay Hontiveros-Malvar said. “It is really about becoming a whole person and a better person.”

“Success is never only about how far we go on our own personal journeys,” she added. “It’s also about how many people we can take with us, how many people we can bring forward with us.”

More than 1,200 scholars nationwide have benefited from the college scholarship program to date, while the Foundation is supporting nearly 300 scholars this year.

The education investments complement Aboitiz's push to adopt AI across its businesses while expanding the pool of Filipino workers with the technical and leadership skills needed in a more automated economy.