Business, schools eye dual training to ease unemployment

08 June 2015

Technical vocational institutions, industry leaders and concerned stakeholders made a common pitch during a recent forum in Mindanao to step up the implementation of the dual training system (DTS) to help reduce youth unemployment.
 
They said that the DTS, which combines study with work experience, reduces the job and skills mismatch and help graduates of technical vocational education and training (TVET) courses find employment easier.
 
Having a skilled and job-ready workforce is essential as the country heads towards the ASEAN integration and as the Aquino administration works its way to attain inclusive growth.
 
"Recognizing the vast opportunities and the great challenges posed by ASEAN 2015 and the government’s thrust of attaining inclusive growth, we, the representatives of schools and companies, commit to collaborate and establish close linkages and partnerships to produce Filipino workers whose competencies are at par with the rest of the world, reduce unemployment and contribute to poverty reduction in the country," the participants of the 1st Mindanao Zonal Dual Training Partnership Forum said in the social contract they signed.
 
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Region X took the lead in organizing the recently concluded forum held in Cagayan de Oro City aimed to gather the commitment of industries and the TVET institutions in implementing the DTS.
 
TESDA was supported by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), German Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. GPCCI), Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Mindanao TVET institutions association.
 
"The dual training system provides a promising path forward to young people by giving them a holistic learning experience that meld knowledge gained in the schools and hands-on work in companies," TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva said.
 
"The results are graduates who can easily move from training to employment," he added.
 
Institutionalized through the enactment of Republic Act (RA) 7686 in 1994, the DTS is an instructional delivery system of technical and vocational education and training that combines in-plant and in-school training, based on a training plan designed and implemented by accredited schools and their partner business establishments.
 
During the forum, industry representatives and TVET institutions committed to intensify implementation of the DTS, and at the same time, called on other institutions and businesses to put in place the DTS in their systems. More than 50 commitments to DTS partnerships were signed between TVET institutions and companies.
 
They said that DTS programs should also be institutionalized in public and private institutions as part of the full implementation of the law, and to make its impact felt in terms of helping ease youth unemployment.
 
Discussions at the forum focused on the DTS implementation. Speakers were from the German Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., TESDA, K to 12 PLUS Project Philippines, University of Makati, Nestle Phils. Cagayan de Oro, and Xavier University. 
 
Misamis Oriental Governor Vicente  Emano, TESDA officials, local officials, officials from PCCI, GPCCI and the local chambers and association of TVET institutions graced the event.