1 February 2014
The Sari-Sari Store Training and Access to Resources (STAR) program launched two years ago to help women retailers succeed in business has now a total of 7,986 graduates.
The program, a joint undertaking of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, targets to empower 200,000 women sari-sari store owners and operators all over the country by 2020 by giving them skills training in managing their business.
Secretary Joel Villanueva, TESDA director general, said the program continues to hone not only the women beneficiaries, but also the trainers and program implementors, who are at the forefront managing and delivering the program's package of assistance.
Recently, a total of 26 employees from TESDA's central and field offices took a four-day training on gender and development to make them more responsive to the needs of their clients.
"Our staff constantly needs capability build-up in order for the program to be more effective," Villanueva said.
"After all, this program is all about empowering women, redefining their roles from being mere household names into active participants in their respective businesses, which in turn contributes to the local economy," he said.
The training on gender and development was embedded in the STAR program, which is part of the Millenium Development Goal on empowering women.
The training modules also included a session on Database Management to equip the program implementors on the basics of handling, storing, and presenting information and data, which they could use in the monitoring and evaluation of program implementation and tracking the status of their beneficiaries.
At the core of the STAR program, the training on gender and development also complements the Philippines' status as one of the best performers within the Asia Pacific region when it comes to gender equality, according to Villanueva.
The country has improved as well its global ranking to fifth place from eighth in the 2013 Global Gender Gap Report.
"As we engage in skills training to hone our human capital, women will always be at the forefront, bearing greater roles in development," Villanueva said.
The STAR program was initially implemented in Manila, Pasay, Makati, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Palawan, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and was later expanded to include Cagayan, Tuguegarao, Bukidnon, Bohol, Aklan, Iloilo, Lanao del Norte, Albay, Batangas, and Baguio. The TESDA Women’s Center, on the other hand, will be the center of excellence to showcase the STAR program. The center will start training sari-sari store owners next month.
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