Tech-voc training a good investment: TESDA

MANILA — The Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is a good investment, since its graduates normally take little time to get their first jobs, an official of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) said.

It takes about six months to one year for TVET graduates to land a job, compared to three years for high school graduates to get their first job, and one to two years for college graduates to penetrate the job market, according to a 2012 Asian Development Bank study, said TESDA Deputy Director General Rosanna Urdaneta during the recently concluded Education Summit here.

“This is why TVET is a wise investment,” she said.

Urdaneta noted an increasing number of TVET enrollees in the country from 2011 to 2016.

The number of TVET providers has also increased since 2010, 92 percent of whom are private institutions, and 8 percent are public or TESDA Technology Institutions (TTIs), she said.

At present, the four capacities of TVET are institution-based, enterprise-based, community-based, and online.

TESDA is working on strengthening the TVET program. Just recently, it conducted the 2nd National Quality TVET Forum, which gathered about 600 participants from TVET providers, industry associations, TESDA directors and other stakeholders.

The forum, which carried the theme “Philippine TVET: Journey Towards Achieving International Quality Standards”, served as an avenue for sharing best practices among Technical Vocational Institutions in the Philippines and Malaysia.

Urdaneta emphasized that in this digital age, the industry would need more highly skilled workers, and thus, a technical vocation course is vital.

Among those who benefit from technical vocational training courses are high school graduates, those who are already employed, underemployed, and career shifters.

Meanwhile, Urdaneta said that for 2018-2022, TESDA plans to focus on three aspects to better improve the country’s TVET program. These are agility, scalability, and flexibility and sustainability.

She explained that to achieve this, TESDA plans to provide incentives or rewards to generate wider stakeholders’ support; keep pace with the massive skills requirements of the industries; and provide flexible policies and regulations.