Systems Technology Institute’s name came from countless brainstorming sessions among the founders, perhaps from Sarte’s penchant for three-letter acronyms from the companies he managed at that time.

The first two campuses were inaugurated on August 21, 1983 in Buendia, Makati and in Espaňa, Manila, and both campuses offered basic computer programming courses. With a unique and superior product on their hands, it was not difficult to expand the franchise through the founders’ business contacts. A year after the first two schools opened, the franchise grew to include STI Binondo, Cubao, and Taft.

A unique value proposition spelled the difference for the STI brand: “First We’ll Teach You, Then We’ll Hire You.” Through its unique Guaranteed Hire Program (GHP), all qualified graduates were offered jobs by one of the founders’ companies or through their contacts in the industry.

The schools’ first batch of graduates, all 11 of them, were hired by SRI. No one among the four founders imagined that STI would become a college or would grow to have 63 campuses in key cities nationwide. But it did, all because of its unique value proposition, the synergy between the founders and their personnel, and the management’s faithfulness to quality.

After a while, other IT schools as well as traditional schools also started offering computer science programs. As a result, more computer professionals filled the job market, competition grew fierce, and the IT job market in the country has been saturated.

However, what differentiated the STI brand from competition until the early ‘90s was its value proposition — the Guaranteed Hire Program (GHP). Through the GHP, academically-qualified students were hired by STI’s corporate partners, mostly colleagues and contacts of the founders. Some qualified graduates were also hired directly by the founders’ companies.

The need to solidify its foundation, on the other hand, remained to be the primary focus of STI. Hence, in an effort to further strengthen the GHP, the “Circle of Friends” was established in 1985 which is composed of the school’s partner companies. This paved the way to more employment opportunities for the graduates.

With its cornerstone strongly in place, STI began to venture into basic education. Through its vast experience in setting up and running tertiary level campuses, the Management recognized the opportunity to offer the same quality of education to pre-school, grade school, and high school students. The result was the launch of new STI brands in 1998 — STI Prep School, STI Grade School, and STI High School.

STI also became more visible during the same year in mainstream television and on-the-ground in their respective communities as they partnered with broadcasting network ABS-CBN for the Halalan coverage. Since then, STI remains as one of ABS-CBN’s constant school partners in their election coverages. The Halalan experience has imbibed in our young students the spirit of youth empowerment and the drive to be the catalysts of positive change in our country.

With its wealth of experience in launching educational programs needed by its market, STI proficiently repositioned itself as multi-tiered school geared to produce graduates with in-demand skills who are ready to become valuable contributors to the global workforce.

Even with all the focus on upgrading the network, STI never lost sight of their goal of being able to empower the Filipino youth by instilling in them the importance of social responsibility. In this regard, the STI Foundation was instituted in 2001. The Foundation launched various programs that addressed the digital divide and promoted excellence in education — public school students and teachers, differently-abled people, and less privileged individuals were uplifted by these projects.

The GHP also underwent an overhaul beginning 2003 when the Interactive Career Assistance and Recruitment System (iCARES) was put in place. The iCARES is an online career service system that aids STI students and alumni by establishing links with prospective employers. The system allows the alumni to store and edit their resumés in a databank and be able to access them anytime, anywhere.

The following year, STI introduced the science behind the GHP by highlighting its other brand merits such as the standardized and updated courseware and curriculum, highly-trained and certified faculty, and modern facilities. This marked the birth of STI’s unique value proposition — the Enrollment to Employment (E2E) System.

In 2007, the Driving Education Where IT Matters program was launched together with the STI Mobile School. This program has received several Anvil awards for breaking the barrier of distance in teaching computer literacy for free to various individuals nationwide.

The Mobile School is equipped with a state-of-the-art computer laboratory with internet access, multimedia computers, LCD monitors, and sound system. Since its launch, there are now six STI Mobile Schools to date that have already visited more than 100,000 public and private schools in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

A long way since its birth, STI’s thrust has permeated right into the core of the globally competitive market — it has transcended beyond ICT and education, addressing the need for job-ready and future-ready graduates.