Tesda to boost Mindanao employment

THE Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) will pour more grants in Mindanao to address the unemployment problem of vocational graduates in the area.

Tesda Director General Joel Villanueva said his agency is now in the process of identifying key employment generation sectors in the southern Philippines.

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“We will continue to support and strengthen the programs and activities of Tesda Centers in Mindanao particularly the community-based and enterprise-based projects,” he added.

Villanueva said Tesda is currently working on clinching grants from the United Nations and various non-government organizations.

Among the sectors the agency want to tap include crop production, aquaculture, rice machinery, animal production, and horticulture; Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), and Creative Industries.

“These are the sectors where we would want to give our focus with regards to funding,” noted Villanueva.

Tesda said that aside from having one of the highest unemployment level in the country, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has the lowest absorption rates of tech-voc graduates among the regions in the country. (AH/Sunnex)