In today’s world, every person from all walks of life was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. As things take a turn for the unknown, everyone had to transition to a new alternative for everyday life— the digital world. This transition has affected everything— schools turned into online learning, offices transition to a work-from-home setup, and the employment market has been hastily changing, creating in-demand and obsolete roles that has striken young professionals hardest.
As we transition into a new normal that affects all facets of our lifestyles, careers, and digital nativism, there was a ray of light that hopes to guide the youth in navigating their new lives. In April of 2021, the career consultancy firm known as Metamorphosis Group found this as an opportunity to create a rallying cry for business and career development in the digital world— and this venture led to the creation of the Virtual Career Academy Summit 2021.
Metamorphosis Group banded together with the best examples of professional excellence, such as the members of the Multimedia Association of the Philippines (MMAAP), directors of the Animation Council of the Phillippines (ACPI), and the brilliant minds of Reactor School, Go Philippines, and Microsoft Philippines, and several experts from NextPay and Institute of Integrality. Throughout the course of a week, they’ve presented talks and webinars for young professionals to prepare themselves for their careers and digital landscape.
The first day started out with a bang with several talks in the morning about all things digital and tech. In the first morning talk, the executive board of the proponent company Metamorphosis Group consisting of CEO Danica Octa and Board Member Ricson Singson Que explains the importance of Digital Transformation in our careers and businesses today. Right after that, we were introduced to the world of IT, Tech, and Engineering again with Ricson Singon Que and Ryan Francisco, an MMAAP champion member.
Kicking things off for day 2, the audience was introduced to the Microsoft Skilling Initiative presented by Michael Goldsmith of Go Philippines and Georgina Martelino of Microsoft. They discussed how Microsoft trains new skills that are in demand, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic. Following that, we had an introduction to the importance of Communications and Multimedia in today’s world with Jag Garcia and Bryan Bravo of MMAAP, Cholo Sediaren of POP!Corn Podcast, and Daniel Enriquez of ACPI.
Day 3 was jam packed with several talks that kept the audience at the edge of their seat. The first talk was a discussion about how to further improve the employer-employee career experience with returning speakers Danica Octa and Michael Goldsmith. Up next, we were immersed in the world of Digital Entrepreneurship with several leaders and CEOs such as the co-founder of Reactor School Weiyuan Lim, CEO of ALex Warren Chu, Ervinne Que of MMAAP, and Vice President of ACPI Maryln Montano.
Day 4 was another booming day for the summit and its participants. The first talk was about the importance of accredited education in today’s employment market by the Director of Education Vision of Go! Philippines Faith Elona, and later in the morning we were brought into the intricate and relevant process of Finance Tech by the dynamic duo of Next Pay, managers Anna Sasaki and Merryl Talan.
Reaching the finale of the event, the summit sent it off with their last two webinars. The first webinar aimed to give their audience practical advice with how one start’s funding their professional development with Go Philippines’ Chief Partners & Strategy Officer Karl Leung. Right after, as a neat bow on a lovely gift, the event gave the chance to speak to industry experts in Outsourcing and Consultancy, with Ruby Manuel from Institute of Integrality, and Marie Grace Dimaranan of ACPI.
Each day after the morning seminars, the participants of the summit were brought into different digital booths where they get to train and develop their professional standing with mock interviews, presentation tutorials, resume reviewers, and one-on-one coaching. At the end of every day, the participants were treated to a raffle where they get the chance to win grand prizes such as cash vouchers for gadgets like iPads, Macbooks, and iPhones, and a chance at obtaining a scholarship to Reactor School and Metamorphosis Group’s Career Program.
As the VCA Career Summit came to an end, the participants were quick to show their appreciation for the amount of knowledge and training they received within only five days that will not only help them in their careers, but also helping them figure out what path of life suits them best. The invaluable and irreplaceable experience the summit has brought to the participants and speakers alike has shown them that despite living in the new normal where interaction is limited, we can still bridge people and forge new paths together.
