Saturday, October 13, 2007 Getting certified By Mafel Joan Negrido-Gamale
THERE comes a time when one's judgment is put to test. One is torn between the right thing to do and the will to help.
I will call her Chona. She is one of the listeners of Tesda XI's radio program that I anchor. She sent me a text message begging for me to help her because she is very poor and that she has four children to feed.
Her husband is a construction worker, which means he could not assure her of a regular salary. My compassion stirred, I texted her back, asking her how I could be of help. Chona wanted to be issued a Certificate of Competency (COC), one of the documents required by employers here and abroad. She wanted to work in another country as a cook.
I wanted to help Chona and her family through the issuance of that COC which is issued only by Tesda. But while the request was fine with me, it made me uncomfortable because she wanted to be issued a COC without taking the competency assessment which is composed of two tests: the test of knowledge (written portion) and the test of skills (actual application of skills).
If she could pass both, then she could be issued a COC by Tesda. However, Chona was not keen at passing both tests. She wanted to get that much-coveted COC without undergoing the tests. She had no money to pay for the competency assessment fees which was pegged at P1,500 for Commercial Cooking. But her inability to pay the fees was not a reason for TESDA XI to issue her a COC. She had to pass the competency assessment first.
After consulting our then regional director Dr. Gaspar S. Gayona, he readily agreed to help Chona and that TESDA XI's help would be in the form of free assessment. Chona, needing the COC badly, took the assessment - at no cost. And yes, she passed both tests. She was issued the COC right away.
The story happened way before the Free Assessment Service of Tesda (Fast) was born. Now, people who want to have COCs but cannot afford the competency assessment fees of Tesda-accredited assessment centers can avail of the free assessment through Fast, which can be availed by job-ready students and graduates.
Fast may be gathering popularity among the would-be employees and the employed who are aiming for better jobs that offer higher pay, but it does not mean that the accredited assessment centers would no longer be patronized by people who want to be assessed.
It does not mean also that the Tesda-accredited assessment centers are no longer accepting applicants for competency assessment. They are still conducting competency assessment, though for a fee. And competency assessment at accredited assessment centers can be taken anytime while the free assessment at Fast centers can be had only on Saturdays and Sundays. This is because the Fast assessors are Tesda employees who have time to spare only on weekends.
Fast is here to stay, giving hope to those who need to be issued their COCs so they can land a job but do not have the resources to pay for the competency assessment fees. All one has to do is to call any Tesda XI training centers and administered schools to avail of Fast.
And what happened to Chona? She is now in Australia. She sent a text message right before she left the country, extending her gratefulness to Tesda XI. Now I can sleep soundly again, knowing that even if another soul was helped, no rules were violated. Ahhhhh, another success story to savor.
