THE Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) have joined forces to give free skills training for persons with disabilities (PWDs) nationwide.
On February 15, TESDA Director General Secretary Guiling “Gene” Mamondiong and NCDA Executive Director Carmen Reyes-Zubiaga formally signed the memorandum of agreement (MOA) that would pave the way for the two agencies to help the PWDs.
Mamondiong said that the skills training is provided for under the Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) so that the PWDs could receive the National Certificate (NC) which is necessary for job application here and abroad.
“In line with TESDA’s Two-Pronged Strategy on Poverty Reduction, the project aims to provide interventions through skills development by providing access to training to qualified persons with disability for self or wage-employment to uplift their economic status," said Mamondiong.
Aside from Mamondiong and Reyes-Zubiaga, others officials who attended the MOA signing were Deputy Director General for TESD Operations Alvin Feliciano, Deputy Director General for Partnerships and Linkages Rebecca Calzado, and NCDA Program Management Division Chief Dolores Deang Sotero.
Institutions from the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) also promised to help the project in providing skills training for PWDs.