09 August 2014
Graduates of technical vocational education and training who have sailed to foreign lands and found jobs are living proof that Filipino workers are world-class.
Henry Basilan, Ryan Cordova and Argie Roque all put their faith in tech-voc training, took their ambition a notch higher and made progress in their respective careers abroad.
They looked back at their humble beginnings and shared their formula for success in the video entries they submitted for the Tatak TESDA Video Making Contest. They were among the Top 20 finalists in the video contest held early this year.
Basilan's course on Lathe Machine Operation became his badge for a job abroad. Aiming for better job opportunities, he took up Machining NC II and got his National Certificate II. When he saw an opportunity, he transferred to a shipping company, which took him to many foreign places.
"Filipino seafarers can be pitted with other nationalities," he said.
Earning just enough to put up his own business, he decided to return to the country and start his own business. This also gave him an opportunity to enroll in a college course anew, and in April this year, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering under the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP) of the Commission on Higher Education.
Basilan also took the TESDA assessment to be a certified trainor and assessor so he could help mold the career of future machinists and seafarers.
Cordova used to be a construction worker, but found the job too hard.
"I asked myself, am I destined to be stuck in this job? Without any skills, I will always be left behind by my colleagues," he said.
Getting into technical-vocational education, Cordova took a course in Industrial Automation and Mechatronics and obtained a National Certificate III. He was working as a production shift supervisor in a company when a tragedy struck the family. The death of his father prompted him to seek work abroad.
Only 21 years old then, Cordova clinched a job in Riyadh because of his NC III and his work experience. While abroad, he said he was tasked to upgrade the machines, a kind of work that was difficult and needed high technical expertise.
"What guided me in accomplishing the task were all the learnings I received from my tech-voc course," he said.
Now 25 years old, Cordova has been promoted Senior Automation Engineer, a title given him even if he was not a graduate of an engineering course. He has his own family now and few investments from his income.
Coming from a middle-income family, Roque finished a three-year course in Mechanical Technology, but he said that he landed in jobs not fit for his course, and because of this, he did not last long in the workplace.
He knew he wanted to learn something else and finally landed in a Food and Beverage course courtesy of a TESDA scholarship. After obtaining a National Certificate II, he immediately found work in a fine-dining restaurant, which opened the door for work abroad.
He said the TESDA course he took guided him to discover what he really liked and where he excelled. He now works as a demi chef or the assistant to the executive chef in a restaurant in Macau.
Share this page
