24 February 2016
“This is the start of a program that we hope will give a better future for all of you,” Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General Irene Isaac told the trainees in her message at the inauguration of a new electronics training laboratory in Laguna.
Housed inside the Jacobo Z. Gonzales Memorial School of Arts and Trades (JZGMSAT) compound in Biñan City, the Electronics Products Assembly and Servicing Training Laboratory is the product of a tripartite partnership among TESDA, Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation (SEPCO) and Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development, Inc. (FIT-ED).
The trainees are among the first batch of 25 youth to experience learning in the state-of-the-art laboratory. They are being trained in a new TESDA course called Electronics Products Assembly and Servicing (EPAS) NC II.
Isaac said that TESDA reviews its Training Regulations every three years together with industry partners to assess the relevance of their content.
“It was recommended that we expand the scope of the old Consumer Electronics Servicing (CES) course, so now we have EPAS NC II,” she said.
“It's also auspicious that at the start of a reviewed course, we have the support of a giant company like Samsung to help us modernize our training facilities and equipment,” she added.
Under the partnership, Samsung will provide technical inputs to be integrated in the curriculum of the course, as well as equipment, tools and other materials and regular updates on the brand's technologies relevant to the training program.
TESDA, on the other hand, will provide trainers and select trainees that will undergo both in-school and in-company training in Samsung-accredited service centers.
“Samsung greatly believes in the potential of the Filipino youth. We are confident that through this partnership with TESDA, we can help the country develop consumer electronics workers to ensure the growth of the electronics industry, help eliminate the shortage of skilled labor and create more jobs,” said Arlita Tayko-Narag, Samsung public affairs chief, said in her message during the inauguration ceremony.
She said the company has plans of constructing similar laboratories, in partnership with TESDA, in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
“We are very grateful to Samsung for this well-equipped and modern training center. We hope that with this partnership, more and more trainees, particularly those living near the industrial corridors of the CaLaBaRZon region, will gain valuable technical skills and find gainful employment,” Benito Reyes, administrator of JZGMSAT, said.
In June 2015, Samsung opened the first of such laboratories at the TESDA Women's Center in Taguig City. Construction of the TESDA-Samsung Electronics Products Assembly and Servicing Training Laboratory at JZGMSAT started in the last quarter of 2015.
The two and a half month in-school training for the EPAS NC II course began in January after which trainees will have a 10-month long, in-company/on-the-job training.
JZGMSAT, a TESDA-administered school and occupying more than two hectares, is one of the largest in Laguna. It offers a diverse range of technical vocational courses such as Automotive Servicing, Carpentry, Dressmaking, Food and Beverage Services, Bread and Pastry Production and Welding, among others.
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