A blue-collar worker from the province pedals toward a brighter future for himself and his family, with the help of a recently-inked technical-vocational partnership between the Aboitiz Foundation and Dualtech Training Center in Calamba, Laguna.
“Isa akong laborer bago ko nalaman ang Dualtech. Nagpapasalamat ako sa Aboitiz Foundation sa malaking tulong na ito sa akin para makapagtapos ako sa aking pag-aaral. Dahil dito, alam kong magbabago ang aking buhay (I was a labor worker before I found out about Dualtech and its program. I would like to thank the Aboitiz Foundation because this [scholarship] will be a great help for me to finish my studies. With this assistance, I am about to change the course of my life),” shared Zaldy Gavica, a Camarines Sur native and a Dualtech Electromechanics Technology major at Dualtech.
Currently on his third month as a Dualtech scholar, Gavica dreams of finishing his studies to help achieve a better life for his family. Because his parents do not earn enough to support his schooling, he works as a laborer and moonlights as a pedicab driver.
Like Gavica, 19 other Dualtech tech-voc scholars are guaranteed full support for their education through a partnership.
Selected based on academic excellence, skills, and attitude toward completing a six-month training, the Aboitiz Foundation recently turned over Electromechanics Technology scholarships to 20 Dualtech students from various provinces in the country such as Aklan, Bohol, Camarines Sur, and Catanduanes. The grant covers the tuition fee and training costs of the scholars.
Lolito Baldones, Jr., an assistant welder and painter of Cebu, also aims to finish an education despite not being able to go to college.
Currently on his fourth month as a Dualtech scholar and working as a part-time ramen house cook, Baldones said the Aboitiz Foundation’s scholarship will now make it easier for him to make ends meet and achieve his goal.
Gavica and Baldones are just two of the many inspiring scholars benefiting from this partnership.
“Today, through the Aboitiz Foundation’s partnership with Dualtech, the scholars are given an opportunity to discover a new skill and hone their abilities. But with that opportunity is also a responsibility to take part in our advocacy and brand promise of advancing business and communities,” said Aboitiz Foundation’s first vice president and chief operating officer Maribeth L. Marasigan.
Dualtech is a pioneer of the Dual-Training System in the Philippines, wherein schools and industries train students in real-life work experience in the technical and vocational fields.
In the training program, Dualtech’s mode of training delivery involves a combined learning experience for the students—they learn in the classrooms through lectures and school-related activities, and outside of school through actual industry work.