Seven industries seek voc-tech graduates

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority chief Joel Villanueva has identified seven emerging industries which will give greater employment opportunities to vocational and technical skills graduates.

At the Communication and Exchange Forum of the Philippine Information Agency, he cited training programs and scholarships tailored to qualifications and skills for the in-demand jobs needed by the sector.

Among the most sought after are positions in the agribusiness, business process outsourcing or BPO, creative or 3D animation, manufacturing, infrastructure, responsible mining, and tourism industries.

Villanueva the seven employment generators were determined in coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment along with the National Economic Development Authority.

“More jobs will be provided in the said fields within three to five years,” he said.

Villanueva indicated TESDA’s readiness to assist both industries and workers on their training development needs.

“We want to break the wrong notion that in order to be successful in life one has to be a college graduate or a holder of a diploma… we at TESDA produce quality graduates,” he said.

Villanueva emphasized the importance of an academic degree and that the agency provided an alternative career path for the youth.

In 2010, a study, “Project JobsFit” by the Bureau of Local Employment in consultation with regions, stakeholders, agencies, and the captains of Philippine industry, sorted out in-demand but hard-to-fill occupations in the power and utilities, renewable energy, and diversified/strategic farming and fishing sectors. –Gigi Muñoz David, Manila Standard Today