THE Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) in Negros Occidental assured support to Negros Occidental Language and Information Technology Center (NOLITC) through continuously providing scholarships to the latter's students.
Jimmicio Daoaten, provincial director of Tesda-Negros Occidental, said the agency has been providing funds yearly for the scholars in the province.
Daoaten said the Provincial Government-run center is a “performer” in terms of quality instruction, among others. This means, they can comply the requirements as the basis for providing scholarship funds.
“This enables NOLITC to be prioritized by the Tesda,” he said, adding that the assurance of supporting the center is 100 percent as the national government has funds for scholarship grants.
NOLITC as a training center is the one implementing Tesda's scholarship programs including the Training for Work Scholarship Program.
The agency, for its part, provides funds with the assurance that the center's graduates will pass the assessment or have high employability rate.
It is already established that NOLITC graduates are almost 100 percent employed. Companies are even “hunting” them, Daoaten said.
So, this is a come on for Tesda to support NOLITC like funds in order to cater to many deserving students, the provincial director said.
Daoaten pointed out there is a need for “access” in the province. “When we say access, there support from the government is really availed,” Daoaten added.
For six years of operation, NOLITC has already catered to about 5,000 students and produced some 4,000 graduates.
“Most of them are Tesda scholars,” he said, adding that NOLITC has been serving as an equalizer in terms of access because they cater to talented youth from the far-flung areas.
“These students are from underserved and unserved localities,” Daoaten said.
He stressed that for local government units in Negros Occidental have no training providers, it is NOLITC that has given them the access to the programs.