12 July 2013
Central and Southern Luzon residents will no longer have to go too far for information and assistance on technical vocational education and training (TVET).
Help desks were recently opened at the Robinsons Malls in Pampanga, Laguna and Cavite to cater to the youth and workers needing information on the various programs and services of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
The Robinsons Malls Lingkod Pinoy Center is among the several stations that the shopping mall giant plans to open all over the country to help promote TVET as an option among the youth, unemployed adults and other members of the country's workforce.
"The goal is to create little hubs of TESDA programs and services that people can easily access, such as in malls," Secretary Joel Villanueva, TESDA director general, said.
"The Specialista Desk will be manned by TESDA staff, which can answer questions and guide clients on how they can avail of the services of the agency," he said.
During the national launch of the help desk at Robinsons Starmills in Pampanga, TVET graduates showcased the skills they learned from training such as in the field of massage therapy, haircutting, robotics, fruit carving, blood pressure and blood typing, bartending, candy making, floral arrangements, cake decoration and table skirting, hilot (wellness massage) and bartending.
Free services on haircutting, massage therapy and blood typing, among others, were also offered to the audience.
The setting up of the Specialista Desks was part of the partnership between TESDA and Robinsons Land Corporation, which signed a memorandum of agreement last May 20.
The desks will have information about the available TESDA courses and the institutions offering them; schedules of training, competency assessment, job fairs and other events; and other TESDA programs and services.
Robinsons gave the space to the agency as part of its corporate social responsibility program and its desire to bring government services to people in convenient location and closer to the public.
Villanueva led the national launch of the help desk in Pampanga, and was joined by local officials headed by Representatives Oscar Rodriguez and Yeng Guiao and San Fernando town Mayor Edwin Santiago.
Attending for Robinsons Mall were Arlene Magtibay, senior vice president and general manager of Robinsons Land Corporation Commercial Center Division; Theresa Miranda, Special Projects Manager; Irving Wu, operations director for Luzon; and Jodee Arroyo, regional operations manager of Starmills Pampanga and Malolos.
TESDA officials present were Deputy Director General for Field Operations Teodoro Pascua; Region 3 Director Teodoro Gatchalian; Regional Coordination Office Director Sonia Lipio; and Pampanga Provincial Director Ben-Hur Banigued. Mr. Gregorio Sison represented the association of TVET institutions in the region.
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