Current students and recent graduates of the Information Technology course at Southville International School and Colleges (SISC) have recently gained the prestigious Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certification on the implementation and maintenance of Microsoft Databases (SQL Server 2005). The exam takers recorded a 100% passing rate for all the undergraduate students of Southville and also a 100% passing rate for all the Southville scholars.

      This particular certification is highly valued worldwide due to the difficulty in exam preparation. Training kits and preparation guides are typically over 1000 pages in length.

      SISC Operations Director and Microsoft Certified Trainer Rex Wallen Tan comments, "We set lofty goals knowing that the SQL Server certification usually takes 2-3 months of preparation for experienced professionals and we're astounded that our students did so well.  We chose certifications based on SQL Server since Databases are present in all modern businesses. The majority of corporations outside of the IT sector run databases, and even SAP runs on SQL Server! I graduated from the top university for technology in Europe and I can assure all my students that their credentials are recognized worldwide."

      The IT industry is very volatile and demands a very high quality of professionals, preferably those who are internationally certified by I.T. giants like, Microsoft Corp, Cisco Systems, SAP, Sun Microsystems, Oracle Corporation etc.  Southville is the only school in the Philippines running such a globally-recognized IT brand certification program.

      Mr. Tan adds, "One year ago, we launched the Microsoft IT Academy since we realized that the old curriculum caters to computer scientists and researchers, and not technology professionals. Our new curriculum reflects industry standards from Microsoft instead of the more traditional computer theory."

      There is still a skills shortage in both the UK and the USA for highly skilled technology professionals despite the global recession. The earning power of these professionals abroad is significantly higher than the wages of the more traditional professions (Nursing, Hotel and Restaurant staff, etc). The average salary in the UK for technology professionals is around 42,000 pounds per year or 3.2 million pesos.