Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Secretary Isidro Lapeña on Wednesday noted
that the agency’s partnership with the industries and the Department of Public
Works and Highways (DPWH) is a huge help to achieve their newest tagline,
“Abot Lahat”.
In an interview over “Tech-Voc Track ay Swak!”, a radio program segment
dedicated to feature services that TESDA offers, Lapeña said partnering with
the industries enables TESDA to reach more people and at the same time assures
employment for its trainees.
“Training will not serve its purpose if we could not provide employment to
our trainees,” he remarked, adding that TESDA’s mandate is to provide
training that will lead the trainees to a livelihood or job.
“Partnering with big companies has good results. Our trainees get employed
immediately,” he said.
TESDA has been strengthening partnerships with multinational firms and also
conducts consultative meetings with the League of Corporate Foundations.
Some companies provide scholarships, others donate a building, while others
share their facilities. Some of them get TESDA’s trainees as their interns,
which makes the trainees get exposed to high-tech facilities and get hired
immediately.
Companies also benefit from partnering with TESDA, as the agency helps them
train their people to avoid job mismatch. TESDA provides them provide the
necessary training to their pool of workers, and also helps them recruit
people.
Meanwhile, TESDA has a “Train to Build, Build, Build” project since 2018, with
the goal of expanding the capacity of technical vocational education and training,
train more skilled workers and address the need for more construction workers
for the country’s “Build, Build, Build” program.
TESDA renewed its partnership with the DPWH last April for the government’s
“Build, Build, Build” program. TESDA has been helping the DPWH in the
training and assessment of heavy equipment operators since 2006.
With the renewed partnership, TESDA will enable DPWH engineers to be trainers
and assessors. A crash course will be provided for them to prepare them as
trainers and assessors of other skilled or qualified construction-related
workers.
The DPWH, for its part, will provide practicum and administration venues,
according to TESDA.
Lapeña said TESDA’s coordination with the DPWH helps the agency produce more
skilled workers, particularly in the construction field.
“We do project-based onsite training through our coordination with the
DPWH. TESDA trains workers using the equipment of construction companies or of
the DPWH in this training,” he said.
The TESDA chief added that through this on-site training in construction sites,
the trainees would not need to go to TESDA’s training centers.
“So this is huge help for us to achieve the ‘TESDA Abot Lahat’,” he
noted. (PNA)
