More partnerships with the private sector must be forged to realize more programs for the workforce to meet the challenges of an ever evolving workplaceeveryman
Twenty-nine years ago, on August 25, 1994, Republic Act 7796 was signed by President Fidel V. Ramos establishing the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
As stipulated in the TESDA Act “the State shall encourage active participation of various concerned sectors, particularly private enterprises, being direct participants in and immediate beneficiaries of a trained and skilled workforce in providing technical education and skills development opportunities.”
On its 29th founding anniversary, TESDA launched the National Technical Education and Skills Development Plan (NTESDP).
For those who cannot afford to pursue four- or five-year college degrees, the government has a manpower development program where they are prepared through technical education and vocational training.
The technical education and skills development program aims to development high quality Filipino middle-level manpower responsive to and in accordance with Philippine development goals and priorities.
There are programs offered by government for the work force to improve their employability and competencies to meet actual industry demands.
The area-based and demand-driven technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is implemented by TESDA to be responsive to the needs of industries and employers in specific areas.
In its 2021 TVET Statistics Annual Report there were 1,240,099 enrolees and 1,157,189 graduates with a 93 percent completion rate.
The government acknowledges the need to invest in people to make them more productive and self reliant.
After all, people with the required education and skills are the first to seize employment opportunities generated by a growing economy.
Providing the necessary skills training has its cost.
It is important to collaborate and partner with the private sector to ensure the delivery of high-quality and relevant tech-voc training to Filipinos.
Recently, San Miguel Corporation announced it is partnering with TESDA to launch a skills training program so that more Filipinos can benefit from employment opportunities at the New Manila International Airport project and in other projects of the conglomerate.
A Memorandum of Agreement was signed by SMC represented by its President and CEO Ramon S. Ang and TESDA Director General Suharto T. Mangudadatu.
The MOA strengthens the collaboration of the two organizations and expands their partnership to create more livelihood and employment opportunities in provinces where SMC projects are situated.
“We are rolling out a comprehensive skills training program that will prepare many Filipinos for the vast job and livelihood opportunities in our upcoming new Manila International Airport project in Bulacan as well as other strategic initiatives nationwide,” Ang said.
In 2020, SMC, in cooperation with TESDA, launched a skills and livelihood training program for residents of Bulacan, where the new airport will rise.
Students from Barangay Taliptip were trained in metal arc welding, electrical installation and maintenance, heavy equipment operations, cookery, and dressmaking.
The training is a commitment of SMC to Taliptip residents to help make their lives better.
Graduates especially those who underwent training in heavy equipment, electrical installation and maintenance, and shielded metal arc welding courses are referred to SMC Aerocity which handles the airport development.
Others become self-employed as they are also given entrepreneurship training.
Following the launch in Bulacan, SMC again collaborated with TESDA and expanded its livelihood skills and job training program in Sariaya, Quezon.
Sariaya is an important growth area for SMC.
It is site of the corporation’s agro-industrial center which will have a grains terminal and feedmill, and food manufacturing plant, among others.
The participants trained in organic/urban farming/edible landscaping and fish/meat processing.
The first batch of trainees in Sariaya consisted of residents from the San Miguel-Christian Gayeta Homes.
Meanwhile, SMC has collaborated with Korea Railroad Corp. and the Philippine National Railways to train 115 engineering cadets in preparation for the commercial operations of MRT Line 7.
MRT 7, another big-ticket infrastructure project of SMC, is scheduled to open its doors to the commuting public in 2025.
It can accommodate 300,000 passengers in its first year of operation and up to 850,000 passengers on its 12th year.
It will have 14 stations—Quezon North Avenue Joint Station; Quezon Memorial Circle; University Avenue; Tandang Sora; Don Antonio; Batasan; Manggahan; Dona Carmen; Regalado; Mindanao Avenue; Quirino; Sacred Heart; Tala; and San Jose del Monte.
The 115 engineering graduates were chosen from over 500 applicants who underwent rigid screening. The top 40 were sent to South Korea for training while the remaining cadets are undergoing extensive training in the country under the Philippine Railway Institute.
SMC is investing in the growth, development and well-being of young local talents and provide them with the needed tools to enhance their competencies.
Aware that human resources contribute to economic growth, we must address problems in skills-job mismatch and encourage upskilling and reskilling of the Filipino workforce.
More partnerships with the private sector must be forged to realize more programs for the workforce to meet the challenges of an ever evolving workplace.
(The author, president and executive director of the Million Trees Foundation Inc., a non-profit group advocating tree planting and watershed protection, is a book author and publisher of biographical and historical coffee-table books through his outfit, Media Touchstone Ventures, Inc.)