SINCE its creation under the Technical Education and Skills Development Act of 1994, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) has been offering Skills Training and Scholarship programs to Filipinos, including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Mandated to manage and supervise technical education and skills development in the Philippines, the said Act integrates the functions of the former National Manpower and Youth Council (NMYC), the Bureau of Technical-Vocational Education of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports and the Office of Apprenticeship of the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole). The Tesda is the government agency now tasked to offer skills training and scholarship programs for Filipinos.
Envisioned to transform leaders in the technical education and skills development of the Filipino workforce, Tesda nowadays entices interested applicants to avail themselves of the scholarship programs under the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
According to its website announcement, there are three available scholarships Tesda is currently offering: the Training for Work Scholarship Programs (TWSP), Private Education Student Financial Assistance (PESFA), Special Training for Employed Program (STEP).
Applicants, however, need to meet the minimum requirements to be accepted in respective program. The requirement details can be read at www.tesda.gov.ph/education, the official website of Tesda. For this procedure, interested applicants need a desktop or laptop computer that is connected to the internet plus 5 to 10 minutes of their time to complete the three steps online application process.
The Tesda Online Program (TOP) is an open educational resource that aims to make technical education more accessible to Filipino citizens through the use of information and communication technologies. TOP provides an effective and efficient way to deliver technical education and skills development services to a broader audience/wide range of users/all learners at a lesser cost.
This program offers online course under tourism, health care and trainers methodology that has components in housekeeping, cookery, food and beverage, massage therapy, Agriculture, Automotive, Electrical and Electronics, Entrepreneurship, Human Health / Health Care, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration, Information and Communication Technology, Lifelong Learning Skills, Maritime, Social, Community Development and Other Services, TVET, Tourism and 21st Century Skills.
Interestingly, Tesda has a “Skills to Succeed Academy” component that offers a Job Interview Skills Training Course that is about confidence building and enhancing abilities to succeed.
This self-paced material is developed in partnership with Udemy, Inc. with the phrase “Land your dream job and master your interview skills by studying specific interviewing techniques such as body language, learning how to prepare for an interview, and practicing common interview questions in this class.” This course is said to be relevant to anyone in the job marketing, whether you are completely new to the job market, re-entering the workforce, or looking to advance your career.
In view of the need to provide equitable access and provision of TESD programs to the growing TVET clients, Tesda continues to undertake direct training provisions. There are four training modalities school-based, center-based, enterprised-based and community-based. These are being done with Tesda’s infrastructure in place at 57 Tesda-administered schools, 60 training center, enterprized-based training through DTS/apprenticeship and community-based training in convergence with the LGUs.
Tesda has a Registry of Certified Workers which provides information on the pool of certified workers for certain occupations nationwide. It has accredited assessment centers as well as the competency assessors who conduct competency assessment process for persons applying for certification. One competency that I am thinking to offer as a Tesda accredited trainer is on Illustration and Graphic Arts and I see myself in the near future as one among the many so called “experts” to be doing mentorship to Filipino workers interested in skills training.