Who We Are
The rich history of SICAT, The revival of art, science, and culture.
HISTORY OF THE SOUTH ILOCANDIA COLLEGE OF ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY
One special day in the second quarter of 1999, two professionals conceived of an auspicious idea of putting up a school, driven by their ardent desire to help uplift the quality of life, particularly of the rural folks in the southern part of La Union. These two “advocates of the good life”, namely, Mr. John Y. Chan, endowed with business acumen and Dr. Petronilo B. Florague, a passionate educator, both residents of Aringay, La Union and six others who believe in the merits of education, banded together and established a vocational/ technical school in the second district of La Union. This was a most welcome development as it gave and continuously gives an opportunity for students in this province as well as those from nearby provinces, to pursue their vocational plans without having to enroll in any of the higher education institutions in the cities.
Thus, on April 4, 2000 the La Union Vocational School (LUVS) was duly registered at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a private/post-secondary and technical / vocational school that aims to empower students with skills and competences to compete in the labor market, both locally and globally.
The school started with seven (7) vocational/ technical courses in the school year 2000-2001, namely: Two-year Electronics Technology, Two-year Computer Programming, Two-year Computer Secretarial and Two-year Computer Technician and three one-year training courses e.g. Mechanical Technology, major in Automotive Technology, major in Refrigeration and Air- Conditioning and major in Electronics Technology.
Seeing the need to expand and include degree programs, the school upgraded its operations and was renamed South Ilocandia College of Arts and Technology with a catchy acronym SICAT. A plus factor for SICAT is its strategic and very accessible location along the National Highway at Barangay San Eugenio, Aringay La Union.
With the renaming of the College, six (6) degree programs were offered after obtaining the needed permits from the government from Level I (Temporary Permit) all the way to Level IV (Full Government Recognition) within the 2001-2008 time span. These degree programs are: BS in Criminology, BS in Accountancy, BS in Computer Engineering, BS in Commerce, Bachelor of Secondary Education and BS in Computer Science.
To cope with present demands and changing priorities, and to accommodate the growing number of students who prefer to pursue vocational courses, SICAT was authorized by the government to offer eleven (11) more vocational / technical programs, namely: Caregiver Course, Health Care Services, Consumer Electronics Servicing, Electrical Installation and Maintenance, Automotive Servicing, Programming, Computer Hardware Servicing, PC Operations, Food and Beverage Services, Front Office Services and the most recent offering, Massage Therapy. As time rolls on, the SICAT unrelentingly continues to evolve into a leading higher education provider by upgrading its infrastructure, facilities and equipment, enhanced with capability building programs for the faculty and staff. In this lifetime endeavor of developing human potentials, the College commits itself to invest in resource-utilization: time, energy, brain power, motivation and funds to actualize its vision of becoming a competitive and leading institution of higher learning.