26 November 2015
Knowledge of a new language could lead one to a better career path, former Secretary Joel “TESDAMAN” Villanueva said.
As jobs abroad continue to open up opportunities to Filipinos, Villanueva urged applicants to learn a new language as this can be among their best assets for employment.
“We are now a global community – with the Internet, international trade and increased communication. Knowing a foreign language is a highly desirable skill that can make one’s résumé stand out,” he said.
Villanueva, who is running for senator in the May 2016 elections, served as Director General of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) from 2010 to October this year.
Recent reports said that Japan will hire thousands of workers in the field of construction, hotel and restaurant service, and ship building. It is also looking for language trainers and factory workers.
An applicant who can speak and write the Japanese language will have a big edge of getting hired, Villanueva said.
Knowledge of the foreign country’s culture, he said, will also help the Filipino worker adapt to his new environment.
He said that TESDA has a Language Skills Institute that gives training on various foreign language such as English, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, and Spanish. The language training comes with studies of their culture. There is even an on-going Italian language trainers training program.
“Even if one is not sure yet where he wants to work, he should know that he has options if he is a bilingual or multilingual person,” Villanueva said.
“One can also expect a higher salary if he knows a second or third language. Another opportunity would be going into teaching the foreign language to others who need it.”
“Adding a language to one’s resume is impressive. One will soon reap the benefits of his hard work,” Villanueva said.
Villanueva is running under a platform of TESDA – Trabaho, Edukasyon, Serbisyo, Dignidad at Asenso.
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