06 February 2013
Fast food giant Jollibee has linked with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in the production of chairs for underprivileged schools in the country.
The P2 million donation from the Jollibee Group Foundation, Inc. will help in the manufacture of armchairs that will use lumber converted from logs confiscated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
"We are happy to have the Jollibee Group Foundation on board in this initiative of helping ease the shortage of armchairs, and at the same time providing training and livelihood to TESDA graduates," Secretary Joel Villanueva, Director General of TESDA, said.
"This shows that Jollibee strives to give children more than just the fast food experience, but an environment that is good for their learning," he said.
The partnership was sealed in a memorandum of agreement recently signed among TESDA, Jollibee, DENR and Department of Education.
The agreement is an offshoot of the PNoy Bayanihan project launched in 2011 by the three government agencies, together with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), to make good use of the logs seized by the DENR.
After converting the logs into lumber, the DENR will turn them over to TESDA, which will recruit and train workers to manufacture them into armchairs in their training and production centers.
Training certificates will be issued to those who will participate in the training and production processes. Graduates who will pass the competency assessment will be issued their National Certificate (NC) or Certificate of Competency (CoC) by TESDA. The skills they will acquire from the training will enable them to look for jobs in companies or be self-employed.
The Department of Education, with the assistance of Jollibee, will then identify the beneficiary schools of the furniture. A project management team has been created to oversee the implementation of the project.
TESDA targets to produce around 50,000 armchairs to help ease the shortage in the CARAGA region and other areas. It was in CARAGA where around seven million board feet of logs were confiscated by the DENR.
Villanueva said the novelty and relevance of the project has drawn private companies such as Jollibee to get involved and commit support.
"With this partnership, Jollibee has gone outside the walls of their restaurants to try to make a difference in the lives of school children. After all, they know that many children, especially in the rural areas, are hungry for conducive learning environment, too," he said.
Villanueva said TESDA has also implemented projects in the past in coordination with the food chain, such as providing skills training and competency assessment to its workforce. He said that many Jollibee crew members are also graduates of tech-voc courses, such as food and beverage services.
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