DTI kicks off MSME training platform

MANILA, Philippines  —The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is set to begin this month the formal run of its online training platform for micro, small and medium enterprises, which is seen to benefit local exporters.

In an interview with the state-run PTV-4 station on Monday, Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) executive director Nelly Nita Dillera said that they had launched the platform late last month, referring to the PTTC-Arise Plus Training Platform, which is aimed at helping MSMEs engaged in international trade understand and apply the export rules and procedures.

“We will really begin the formal run of this platform this January. So, what we did in December, the whole year of 2023, we finished six modules and then towards the end of the year, we conducted training for trainers,” Dillera said.

READ: DTI unveils MSME enabling program

The PTTC executive said that based on their experience, online learners often fail to complete the training modules or only partially understand how to navigate the platform when left to themselves and without facilitators.

“(The trainers) are trained to train the exporters how to use the online learning courses, and to facilitate the workshops and the quizzes there,” she said further.

Dillera said they had already touched base with the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport), the most prominent export-oriented trade association in the country, as well as with the DTI’s regional offices so that they would have a huge volume of participants.

The training platform — a collaboration among PTTC, International Trade Center and the European Union — currently provides access to six comprehensive courses. These are: “The Rules of International Trade,” “Rules of Origin for Filipino Exporters,” “The Pro Forma Invoice,” “Reducing Cross- border Inefficiency,” “Exporting Food from the Philippines to the European Union” and “Working with Freight Forwarders.”