Strategic alliance fuels cloud upskilling

In photo are (from left) Phoebe Fontanilla and Ken Ngo, board members of Edukasyon.ph; Angela Camins-Wieneke, executive director of BingoPlus Foundation; Celeste Jovenir, DigiPlus VP for Investor Relations, Corporate Xommunication, and Sustainability and BPF COO; Precious Lim, country manager of AWS Philippines; and Rajas Karandikar, head of Greenfield for AWS ASEAN —CONTRIBUTED

Learners should know the “cloud” if they want to truly compete in the world of work today. Yet, many remain unprepared to take on the limitless opportunities in the vast digital space.

Edukasyon.ph has worked to address that issue by linking the unprepared with the Amazon Web Services (AWS) re/Start program, a 12-week workforce development training program that prepares takers–even those without a technology background–for careers in the cloud.

Strategic partnership

With help from BingoPlus Foundation, the social development arm DigiPlus Interactive Corp., up to 50 people will soon benefit from the training.

On May 26, foundation executives, Edukasyon.ph, and AWS representatives officially signed a memorandum of agreement to formalize their strategic partnership for the AWS re/Start program.

“With Edukasyon.ph and [AWS] as partners, we are confident we can take even more learners from classroom to career,” said Angela Camins-Wieneke, executive director of BingoPlus Foundation.

DigiPlus won seven honors—including five coveted gold trophies—at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, making it one of the most awarded companies in the region this year. Widely regarded as the world’s premier business awards, the Stevie Awards represent a prestigious recognition of business excellence. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

FutureSmart Program

A vital part of the partnership is financial support worth P2 million from DigiPlus and BingoPlus, meant to help 50 scholars undergo the coursework of AWS re/Start.

The partnership reinforces the foundation’s FutureSmart Program, a way through which DigiPlus has equipped Filipinos for a digital economy.

The program, which has already helped over 5,000 students and teachers, was recently recognized with a Gold Stevie Award for Excellence in Social Impact at the 2025 Asia Pacific Stevie Awards in Seoul, South Korea.

“Winning the Gold Stevie Award is not just a recognition of our past efforts, but a push to do more, go further and reach higher,” said Camins-Wieneke. “FutureSmart is our way of turning education into a real, life-changing impact.”

Job placement support

AWS re/Start adds to previous scholarships, technology training, learning center donations and employment pathways under FutureSmart.

Finishers of the AWS training will receive job placement support from Edukasyon.ph, which is committed to facilitating employment within three months. Some of the lucky cohorts might end up working within DigiPlus and its network of tech industry partners.

Equipping people with the technical skills for mid-level cloud roles, AWS re/Start has historically helped underrepresented and marginalized individuals, including women, persons with disabilities and people from low-income households.

For more information, visit www.digiplus.com.ph/bingoplus-foundation