TESDA Philippines: Providing Globally Competitive Workforce

For years, TESDA has served as the mandatory body for technical-vocational education and training (TVET), providing career development trainings for middle-level manpower in the country. Since its birth in 1994, the center only aims at one goal: provide globally competitive workers.
TESDA seeks to reduce underemployment by creating programs for middle-level workers and providing competitive training that will respond well to the needs of the domestic and international labor market. The center adopts new technologies and modern equipments on the training to improve the output of TVET providers. This is made possible by working alongside local and international training sectors to provide both the trainers and trainees better access to updated information and training procedures and techniques.
Training for the working Pinoys
The onset of worldwide recession hits Filipino workers here and abroad. Many OFWs have been laid-off from their jobs due to company foreclosure and lack of further employment. TESDA targets to train the ‘balikbayan’ workers, enhance their existing skills, and provide trainings to produce multi-skilled workforce both here and abroad. The job placement program takes effect after the required days of training to ensure the continuous income and productivity of the trained workers. Blue collar jobs are also being reinstated and promoted to bring about a positive change both for the workers and the associations working for their welfare.
Job mismatch
The center has once stressed that job mismatched is one of the main reasons for the high underemployment rate. Many college graduates fail to assert their chosen vocations due to lack of skills and trainings. By working with employers, academes, private sectors, labor organizations, and exchange institutions, TESDA strive to expand cooperation and get better data on job vacancies, required skills, and available training throughout the country. The center is currently regulating the number of trainees to ensure the comprehensiveness of the training in compliance to standards and trends in the industry.
TVET
TESDA provides continuing education, from high school students to those who seek additional and more comprehensive training that other institutions fail to offer. The center serves as an alternative for formal education, organizing most of its programs for out-of-school youth who cannot afford further college education. TESDA targets to reduce unemployment due to lack of education, or better yet, lack of skill. TESDA certification is now a highly-recognized and requisite document for those who seek local and international employment. As the mandating body of vocational studies, the center seeks to resolve unaccredited TVET providers by setting priorities and providing direct and clear policies for the TVET sector. TESDA also works with colleges and universities to provide affordable education through the ladderized program and stipends granted by the center. Most of the programs offered by the center are technical and service-oriented courses which are locally and globally competitive.