Tesda claims it produced 6M tech-voc graduates in 4 years

MANILA, Philippines–The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) on Wednesday boasted of having produced over 6 million technical-vocational graduates in the last four years, 65 percent of whom are now employed and fully utilizing their learned craft.

Celebrating the agency’s 20th year, Tesda director general Joel Villanueva said: “Slowly, we have unlocked the potential of technical vocational education, greatly reduced the social bias against it, and made its impact felt in tackling unemployment.”

‘Blue collar’ professions

According to Villanueva, more youth, women and returning overseas Filipino workers are now taking technical-vocational education to get jobs with specific skills, which are categorized as “blue collar” professions.

Villanueva disclosed that from July 2010 to June this year, Tesda produced 6,281,328 technical-vocational graduates.

Out of this total, more than half underwent competency assessment and 3,289,179 received their national certificates. Based on Tesda data from 1994 to June 2014, there were 21.7 million technical-vocational graduates nationwide.

He added that based on the 2013 impact evaluation survey, more than 4 million, or 65.3 percent, of Tesda graduates were immediately integrated into the workforce, “the highest in the history of the agency.”

Employment rate for graduates in Tesda’s electronics and semiconductor program was at 91.4 percent while 70.9 percent of those hired finished courses on information technology and business process management.

Tesda, Villanueva said, attributes partly the spike in the number of graduates to the agency’s training for work scholarship and the private education student financial assistance programs which both helped over 110,000 youth last year.

Likewise, he pointed out, Tesda undertook a review of training regulations and the created new courses on skills required by industries to keep up with technological advancements.

Employer satisfaction

He added that an employer satisfaction survey had 86 percent of 5,451 public and private firms assuring they will continue to hire Tesda’s technical-vocational graduates because of their highly satisfactory work and skills.

Villanueva added that Tesda’s expansion of its training program online has enabled OFWs easy access to technical-vocational courses.

He assured that Tesda would continue to enhance its programs and projects and strengthen partnerships with other agencies and private companies to train workers in skills that are relevant and responsive to the demands of the growing economy. –Jeannette I. Andrade |Philippine Daily Inquirer

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