TESDA thanks ADB for continued support for ongoing joint projects

August 11, 2022

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is grateful to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for their continued support to their ongoing joint projects, notably in strengthening technical vocational skills training education in the country.

TESDA Director General Danilo P. Cruz thanked ADB Country Coordinator Kelly Bird and other key ADB officials and executives during a courtesy call at the TESDA Central Office in Taguig City last Aug. 2.

“We are delighted to have the ADB as our partners to further develop technical vocational education and training in the country,” he said. 

“This cooperation comes at a crucial time when we are continuously working to prepare our human resources for the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” he added.

To date, TESDA is working with the ADB on two projects, the Supporting Innovation in the Philippine Technical Vocational Education and Training System (SIPTVETS), and the Technology-enabled Innovation in Education in South East Asia Project (TIESEA).

The SIPTVETS is a $100M loan from the ADB to help modernize and reform the Philippine TVET system.  It also aims to equip the youth and workforce with the skills required in a technology and knowledge-driven economy, and at the same time, support the country’s recovery from the pandemic.

Part of the funds from the loan will also be used to construct the planned TESDA Innovation Centers in various locations in the country.

The TIESEA Project, meanwhile, will test the effectiveness of technical vocational education and training (TVET), particularly when it is given through blended learning, or which combines face-to-face with other modes such as online and distance learning.

In the TIESEA Project, TESDA will be the main Philippine government agency collaborator.  TESDA’s Online Program (TOP) will be utilized for the project.  TIESEA will also conduct diagnostics in Cambodia, Indonesia, and Viet Nam.

Recently, ADB had provided TESDA with technical assistance in the development of the “TVET in the Philippines in the Age of Industry 4.0” study.

The study recommended the strengthening of industry engagement in TVET to help anticipate skills demand, ensure better targeting of training programs and efficiency in skills supply, limit job-skills mismatch, and improve labor market outcomes, among others. ###