Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Executive Director of the ASG Employees' Retirement Fund (ASGERF) Iaulualo Talia Faafetai says there is enough capacity in the Hawaiki cable to accommodate outside tech giants who want to set up shop in American Samoa.

Iaulualo was speaking at a press conference this past Wednesday, which officially announced the "computer programming and computer network workforce education and training" that will be offered at the American Samoa Community College (ASCC), under the direction of Stratus Silver Lining, Inc., a company based out of San Jose, CA.

The gist of the program is as follows: Stratus Silver Lining, Inc. CEO and president Dr. Alok Sharma will lead the year-long course, which will be administered at the ASCC by professors from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and executives from various high tech companies who will be taking year-long sabbaticals to come here and teach.

The professors will be residing in the territory for the duration of the program, which aims to enroll 2,000 American Samoans. Iaulualo stressed that these are not the standard 'online' courses, in that local students will be interacting with professors on site.

Those who successfully complete the "intense but condensed" program will be eligible for paid internships (at least six weeks long) with multi-billion-dollar companies in the Silicon Valley, including Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Intel, and CISCO.

Dr. Sharma said one of the biggest up-sides in all of this, is 'human capital'. He said if he wants to open a business here, he doesn't want to have to bring people from off island to do the job. But if locals are trained and certified in the areas of technology his business specializes in, then he can just hire locally.

Another plus, said Dr. Sharma, is the fact that American Samoans are U.S nationals and therefore, can travel to the United States for internships, or to work permanently.

He shared his own personal story: a kid from India who came to the U.S on a green card. He said he started off with a simple power-point presentation. Thereafter, he was able to secure a $1 million investment and in less than two years, he sold the company for over $200 million.

"If I can do it, why can't a person from American Samoa do it too?" he asked.

Under the program, the start date for the first 500 students will be Sept. 1, 2019 and every three months thereafter, another batch of 500 students will start until 2,000 participants are served.

"We will be using the latest technology, to teach technology," Dr. Sharma said, and added that the main requirement for interested individuals is the "desire to learn."

And while not all 2,000 students will be offered an internship - and it's not guaranteed that off island tech companies will be investing in the territory - completing the program arms participants with "useful skill sets" that can put them on the market for major companies to consider. And these companies offer starting salaries in the low six figures, $125,000 - $150,000 said Dr. Sharma.

"Those who complete the program will now have a career path and they are set for life in the global economy. With training and certification - as well as experience through an internship - these companies will come seek you, and the integration will come naturally," he added.

 Iaulualo is optimistic that the program will be beneficial for not only the participants — but the territory as a whole. "If these companies agree to come here, not only will it help ASTCA, it will also benefit the economy," he said.

The ASGERF takes great interest in any revenue-generating efforts for the Hawaiki Cable, as it has invested millions into it. ASGERF is currently in early discussions with several Silicon Valley tech companies and Norway technology companies to open offices here and take licenses to access the Hawaiki cable. "The revenues generated from these licenses will be used to fund the ASGERF Pension Fund," Iaulualo said.

A website for the program will be up and running by next week.

(See yesterday's Samoa News for other details regarding the program)