Tesda: Tech-voc training courses all set to upskill 1.8 M Filipinos

IN a bid to improve the number of its enrollees this year, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) is eyeing to train around 1.8 million Filipinos in various technical-vocational (tech-voc) courses.

Tesda Director-General Danilo P. Cruz said that the registered courses comply with training regulations the agency has developed in close coordination with industries, while ensuring their graduates are job-ready with the right skills and knowledge employers need.

“[We are committed to improving our] numbers when it comes to enrolled, graduated, assessed and certified technical-vocational education and training [TVET] scholars,” Cruz shared.

In 2022 a total of 1,261,244 individuals enrolled in various tech-voc courses, of which 1,231,289 have graduated. Similarly, 907,244 were assessed and 844,368 were certified as skilled workers.

According to the director general, they were the products of the 183 Tesda Technology Institutions, 250 public TVET providers, and 4,197 privately-run tech-voc institutions nationwide, which have implemented more than 17,000 tech-voc training programs.

Meanwhile, preliminary results of the “2022 Study on the Employment of TVET Graduates (SETG)” showed that 8 out of 10 of the country’s finishers of the program were able to land jobs.

Cruz believes the 84.72-percent employment rate can be attributed to the opening up of the economy, as well as Tesda’s pursuit of area-based and demand-driven TVET.

The SETG is conducted annually to measure the relevance and effectiveness of such programs.

Tesda disclosed that its area-based and demand-driven TVET “is responsive to the critical needs defined by the industries and employers to produce properly skilled workers in specific areas or localities.”