JEDDAH, 15 November 2002 — More than 100 OFWs recently joined the ranks of "tech wiz" (computer literate) after completing an extensive 7-week computer literacy seminar offered by the Overseas Filipino Workers Cooperative Council (OFWCC).

The graduates received their certificates from Vice Consul Angelo Amonoy and officers of the OFWCC during a graduation ceremony held at the Tropicana Restaurant in Jeddah.

This is the 10th batch that the organization has trained under its livelihood and reintegration programs, under the aegis of the Philippine Consulate and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

As with previous seminars, the 10th batch was a varied group. Among the participants were a doctor, nurses, engineers, office staff, and many others.

Consul Amonoy reminded the graduates the need for computer education.

"No one is never too old, too poor, or too busy to learn about computers. To be competitive in the current job market, one must be computer literate," he stressed.

Dawood Enggay, the outgoing OFWCC chairman, also encouraged the graduates to make the most of what they have learned during the seminar. "This seminar has given you a new window of opportunity — make the most of it!"

Dr. Andrea Taguibao said she was initially not interested to take up the course: "Ayaw ko sana kasi wala akong kilala sa grupo....but we need to keep on learning, specially with technology. That's why I enrolled."

She added that the instructors were so eager to teach and that made the learning process easy for the attendees. "It was not only that I learn how to operate a computer, I met many friends," she added.

For Nokie Malasigan, a nurse, the instructors of the seminar made a difference, although according to her, some participants "were dozing off during the lectures." She said she hopes to apply her newly acquired knowledge in her work.

To Marsha Nicolas, the seminar opened the door for her in work. When her employer learned she was taking the classes, he "bought a new computer despite his being known to be tight-fisted." With a computer in the office, "work became more efficient", recalls Marsha.

Neil Soriano hopes that the next seminar would "reach out to more people so that they too can learn."

The next project of the OFWCC is a seminar on Visual Basic and Java Script, programs usually associated with the Internet. A guest lecturer from Manila will conduct the seminar tentatively scheduled in the second week of December.