TESDA to boost language training institutes for OFWs

“(TESDA) Director General Guiling Mamondiong told us that we need to prioritize (the LSIs) to help prevent OFWs from being maltreated,” TESDA information officer Nina Dodd told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday.

MANILA — To help overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) find better job opportunities, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will strengthen its Language Skills Institutes (LSIs) across the country, and will also offer additional language courses.

“(TESDA) Director General Guiling Mamondiong told us that we need to prioritize (the LSIs) to help prevent OFWs from being maltreated,” TESDA information officer Nina Dodd told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday.

Dodd added that the agency’s LSI’s were developed for work purposes, as they also teach the OFWs various cultures.

Currently, there are 37 LSIs across the country, including the National LSI in Bicutan, Taguig City.

“The problem is that we need more language trainers for these centers. Also, most of our LSI teachers are teaching English. We need more trainers for other languages,” she noted.

At present, LSIs offer Mandarin, English, Japanese, Korean, and Arabic language courses, Dodd said.

As Mamondiong wants to boost the LSIs’ capacity, TESDA will not just hire more teachers but will also add more language courses to offer — German, Mandarin Taiwanese, Italian, Spanish, and Bahasa Indonesia.

“The NLSI celebrated its 10th year last November. This has been offering more language courses than in the regional LSIs. He wants to boost the capacity of all LSIs nationwide,” Dodd said.

The LSIs, especially those in the regions, were tasked to identify the most frequented countries of OFWs in their areas to pinpoint the most in-demand language and culture training courses.

Meanwhile, these are TESDA’s requirements for those who would like to apply as language trainers: bachelor’s degree; one-year experience in teaching language; TESDA Trainers Methodology Level 1 Certification; computer literacy (with background in Microsoft applications such as PowerPoint, Word, and Excel), good oral and written communication skills; good coaching skills; fluency in English and in their local dialect; with A1 (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) or equivalent of language proficiency; and work visa status for expats.

Interested applicants may submit their application letter and curriculum vitae to the TESDA administrator in their areas. They can also send their applications to lsi@tesda.gov.ph.