AROUND 30,000 construction workers are needed for the rebuilding of Marawi City, thus, a massive vocational skills training program was opened in Iligan City last month to address the growing demand of construction-related skills to expedite the rehabilitation of Marawi City.
Speaking during the weekly forum on Monday, November 6, at The Annex, SM City Davao, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda 11) regional director Dr. Gaspar Gayona said there is about P250 million budget allocated for the skills training for Marawi alone.
“Nag-launch na tayo, kaya sabi ko nga hindi kaya ng Tesda institution lang so [we are] in partnership with private sector like Monarch, regional training center in Iligan and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH),” Gayona said.
These programs include carpentry, masonry, and any construction-related skills to rebuild the devastation left by the five month war in Marawi City where roads were destroyed and houses were damaged because of bullets and bombs.
Heads of the family displaced by the war were approached to take the training so they can rebuild their own house while earning like what they did during the height of Typhoon Pablo where they implemented cash for work program. They trained the affected persons to acquire skills to build their own homes.
He can’t provide yet data as to the number of trainees as it will be held in Iligan Regional Training Center.
Gayona added that Tesda regional directors in Mindanao have pledged to assist the training through sending trainers when the program kicks off.
“Ang desisyon naming regional directors, we will provide trainers gumawa ka ng programa diyan magpapadala kami ng trainers,” he said.
Aside from construction-related programs, he further said that Tesda also offered soft skills training for wives like food processing, bread and pastry, organic agriculture as means of livelihood.