13 April 2015
As a seal of international excellence in technical vocational education and training (tech-voc), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) recently received a nationwide ISO 9001:2008 Certification.
The certification covers TESDA's major regulatory mandate of program registration and assessment and certification for all its 17 regional offices and all 81 provincial offices, including the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and its central office's process of standards development.
"This is an important milestone in TESDA's continuous work to invest in quality skills development of the Filipinos through tech-voc," TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva said.
TESDA obtained the coveted ISO Certification from the German-affiliated company TUV-SUD PSB Philippines, Inc., an external and independent quality management agency, and the agency's third party certification body.
The Certification was received by Villanueva together with Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and other TESDA officials in the presence of President Benigno Aquino III in Malacanang on April 13.
Established in 1947, the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) certifies a government or private enterprise's adherence to worldwide industrial and commercial standards of excellence.
"The Certification bestowed on TESDA proves that after a very rigorous audit, our systems on Program Registration, Assessment and Certification, Standards Development and Support Services have demonstrated compliance with ISO 9001:2008 requirements," Villanueva said.
TESDA becomes the second agency under the executive branch which has a nationwide ISO Certification. The Department of Health was the first agency that received the prestigious status on December 18, 2013.
It is the first and only education agency which was ISO certified.
In February 2012, TESDA received the ISO Certification for Program Registration, Assessment and Certification and Support Services for its central headquarters and Regions III, VIII and the Cordillera Autonomous Region.
In May 2013, it obtained the Certification for Program Registration, Assessment and Certification, Standards Development and Support Services for its offices in Regions I, IV-A, VII, XI and National Capital Region.
In 2014, TESDA was certified for its Program Registration, Assessment and Certification, Standards Development and Support Services in all regions and its central office.
Program registration and assessment and certification are two of the regulatory functions being performed by TESDA. All tech-voc programs being offered by public and private training institutions and schools are required to be registered with the agency before they are offered to the public. Such process ensures that these programs comply with the standards set by TESDA in terms of facilities and equipment, curriculum content, trainers qualification among others.
On the other hand, all tech-voc graduates in courses covered by Training Regulations are required to undergo the mandatory assessment of TESDA. Those who pass the assessment are certified and issued the National Certificate (NC) or Certificate of Competency (NC) by the agency.
For 2014, TESDA has assessed a total of 1,232,116 workers and tech-voc graduates of which 1,125,273 or 91.3 percent were certified.
As of December 2014, it has a total of 20,275 registered programs offered all over the country.
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