THE Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) is in need of more scholars for the infrastructure-related courses especially that the Build, Build, Build program of the Duterte administration is now lacking skilled workers.
Tesda provincial director for Davao del Sur and Davao City Bayani Gofredo said an estimated 2,300 scholars are targeted to enroll this year.
He said vocational courses such as masonry, welding, plumbing, tile setting and carpentry are some of the courses that Tesda is offering to cater to the needs of the administration's program.
"Amoang scholarship kay mostly on the construction and building, kay we are doing this para sa Build, Build, Build, kay mao kana ang priority sa atong government, considering nga anam-anam nag kahurot atong mga skilled workers sa nasud (Our scholarship are mostly on the construction and building related, because we are doing this for the Build, Build, Build program. This had been the government's priority, considering we are slowly running out of skilled workers in the country)," Gofredo said.
He said a total of P49 million is allocated in the region: P19 million is allocated for Davao City, while P7 million for Davao del Sur.
Gofredo said agriculture-related vocational courses are also being prioritized as food security is another current concern in the country.
He encouraged everyone, especially the unemployed or who are in need of extra income, to grab the scholarship offered by Tesda.
"Aside from addressing unemployment, we wanted to focus on the entrepreneurial side wherein they will have their own business after graduation," Gofredo said.
He said interested applicants must go to Tesda-Regional Training Center in Tibungco to know more about their scholarship program.