05 December 2015
As the Philippines’ prime agency tasked to promote technical vocational education and training (TVET), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) continues to share its expertise to foreign agencies and educational institutions for potential collaboration in skills development or boosting each other’s tech-voc programs.
Just this year, it has played host to 12 countries who came to take a peek at the country’s TVET system and pick up the best practices they could apply in their own programs. Some were interested in establishing partnerships for the deployment of Filipino skilled workers to man their industries.
The visiting institutions came from Canada, Italy, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Mozambique, Malaysia, Timor Leste, Thailand, New Zealand and Vanuatu.
“TESDA will always be open to this cross-border collaboration with other countries with the aim of raising the bar for tech-voc education,” Secretary Irene Isaac, TESDA Director General, said.
“One can’t copy and paste TVET systems wholesale. But TESDA is willing to share the features of its tech-voc success from which others may learn,” she added.
Isaac said the stigma on tech-voc in the country has been removed, making it a byword in every community and the path synonymous to jobs and livelihood.
“We have proof to show from our ISO Certification, to our quality tech-voc courses, to our high employment rate,” she said.
The foreign visitors were briefed on the Philippine Qualification Framework, program registration, assessment and certification, and TESDA’s linkages with the private sector, technical vocational institutions, non-government organization and local government units in implementing its programs.
They also visited TESDA’s training centers and partner institutions to get a glimpse of the training and hands-on learning of trainees.
They took particular interest in linking TVET to employment programs so that graduates will immediately have jobs after finishing their courses.
Representatives from Vanuatu, during their visit, broached the idea of their nationals training in the Philippines. Malaysia, through its embassy in the country, also expressed interest in an exchange program for tech-voc students.
Mozambique’s Agricultural Research Institute wanted help in developing its courses related to agriculture and in agriculture research.
In its visit in January this year, Germany, through ZAMA-Philippines, a German toolmaker, said it targets to train tech-voc students and to hire skilled workers.
Several Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) were also drafted as a result of these meetings.
The Badan Nasional Sertifikasi Profesi (BNSP) of Indonesia will, likewise, cooperate with TESDA in terms of National Qualification Framework Occupational Standards Development and Certification System and developing national skills recognition through workshop and capability building activities.
The proposed collaboration with the Thailand Professional Qualification Institute (TPQI), on the other hand, will promote best practices on occupational qualification system and will explore activities for mutual technical assistance.
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