A specialist, Colombian engineering university is the latest in Latin America to offer PeopleCert’s globally recognised business and IT best practice certification to its students.
The Colombian School of Engineering Julio Garavito (Escuela Colombiana de Ingenieria Julio Garavito) – founded 50 years ago this October – has partnered with PeopleCert to provide courses in global best practices including ITIL 4, PRINCE2 and Scrum.
The university’s initiative reflects a wider Colombian government policy to support development and funding of skills in the IT industry and entrepreneurship across the population.
José Arturo, professor of project management and business relationship manager at the university’s Projects Unit said: “We identified that certifications are an effective alternative for our current students and graduates to update and enhance their skills before joining the labour market.
“These certifications introduce students to knowledge not normally covered in formal education. This will improve their professional profiles and increase their chances of getting paid employment. Equipping students with these skills will also benefit commercial and public sector organisations by filling current skills gaps and bringing them the latest in best practice approaches.
“And, it means our university can expand its portfolio of training and learning, with materials developed by an internationally-recognised organisation.”
Fraser Cargill, PeopleCert’s Director of Global Partnerships and Recognition, said: “The university’s decision to provide business and IT certifications reflects changes in higher education globally whereby institutions are responding to employer demands for well prepared, commercially astute graduates who can quickly contribute to the needs of their business.”
“The successful completion of a globally-recognised certification, together with their academic qualification, will support their employability prospects in Colombia, Latin America and further afield.”
The university’s Projects Unit will deliver the best practice courses. This special department provides Masters-level programmes plus project management training for undergraduates, encouraging them to further their project management learning and development.
The future inclusion of IT service management best practices at the university’s Systems Engineering Faculty is aimed at helping students to develop an early understanding of IT service management, as well as showing how the best practice can supplement project management methods such as PRINCE2 in government projects.
“In the Projects Unit we are promoting ITIL 4, PRINCE2 and Scrum as effective options for what our students want in terms of their effort, cost of education and valuable outcomes. Adopting the PeopleCert certifications will put them one step ahead in Colombia and Latin America,” Professor Arturo added.
The university’s vision also includes using the PeopleCert partnership to expand the existing course material and certifications for Lean Six Sigma within its industrial engineering undergraduate programme.