The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will add free Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing and artificial intelligence courses to the TESDA Online Program (TOP), giving Filipinos access to the training without prerequisites or course fees.
TESDA and AWS signed a Strategic Training Agreement on September 29 at the TESDA Complex in Taguig City. The initial courses are Fundamentals of AI, AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, and AWS Certified AI Practitioner.
TESDA has not announced when the courses will become available on TOP.
Fundamentals of AI is aimed at beginners and covers basic AI concepts, including machine learning and AI applications. The Cloud Practitioner track covers AWS services, security, architecture, and pricing, while the AI Practitioner track includes responsible AI, generative AI, and the use of AWS AI services.
The certification-track courses should not be confused with automatically earning an AWS certification. AWS treats Certified Cloud Practitioner and Certified AI Practitioner as separate foundational credentials that require candidates to pass certification exams.
TESDA said learners who complete the certification-track courses may, subject to availability, enroll at the TESDA Women’s Center for structured AWS Academy learning pathways. Eligible learners may also receive vouchers that can be used for AWS certification exams, although TESDA said availability, eligibility requirements, and other limits will depend on its and AWS’s policies.
The AWS material will be integrated directly into TESDA’s learning management system rather than requiring learners to use a separate training platform. TOP already provides free online technical and skills courses to registered users.
The agreement expands TESDA’s push into AI training this year. In May, the agency added selected free AI, digital, and entrepreneurship courses from the HP Foundation’s HP LIFE program, followed by AI-focused training programs developed with STI College.
TESDA said it also plans to bring more AWS courses covering areas such as cloud architecture, security, and databases to its training programs, alongside regional training activities and further integration of AWS material across its network of institutions and provincial training centers.