TESDA to revive National Skills Competition this
year
The Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority (TESDA) said it is reviving the Philippine National Skills
Competition this year to promote technical education and skills development
among Filipino workers as well as to prepare them for an Asian title late this
year.
“The skills competition is our way of promoting
technical education and skills development and in inculcating the value of hard
work and excellence among the Filipino skilled workers,” Tesda Director General
Joel Villanueva said in his report to President Benigno S. Aquino III.
“This is also in preparation for the country’s
participation anew to the 2012 ASEAN Skills Competition (ASC) to be held in
Jakarta, Indonesia in November this year,” he said.
Tesda has not held the national skills
competition for almost a decade and Villanueva said it is being revived this
year with the strong support of the private sector.
The competitors are now undergoing stringent
preparation that includes physical development, skills and knowledge enhancement,
industry immersions, psychological preparation and value formation, in
partnership with the industry and the private sector, Villanueva said.
Tesda was established in 1994 through Republic
Act 7796. It aims to encourage the full participation of the industry, labor,
local government units and technical-vocational institutions in the skills
development of the country’s human resources.
It is mandated to integrate, coordinate and
monitor skills development programs in the country as well as restructure
efforts to promote and develop middle-level manpower.
Tesda also approves skills standards and tests,
develop an accreditation system for institutions involved in middle-level
manpower development and fund programs for technical education and skills development.
(as/12:05pm)
Aquino declares June 21 as special non-working
day in Laurel, Batangas in celebration of its 43rd Foundation Day
President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared
June 21 which falls on a Thursday as a special (non-working) day in the
municipality of Laurel in the province of Batangas in celebration of its 43rd
Foundation Day.
The Chief Executive issued the declaration
through Proclamation No. 395 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr.
on June 6 to give the people of Laurel the full opportunity to celebrate and
participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies.
The town was named in honor of Miguel Laurel,
also known as the "first Laurel" in the Philippines. As a fierce foe
of the Spanish invaders, the people looked at Laurel as their leader for
defending their rights against their oppressors. (js)
TESDA announces 524 aggrupations to help
facilitate employment of TESDA-certified graduates
The Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority (TESDA) announced the establishment of 524 aggrupations, as of May
this year, as part of the Aquino administration's efforts to help facilitate
employment of TESDA-certified graduates.
Through the TESDA Specialista Technopreneurship
Program (TSTP), TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva said the aggrupations,
consisting of 5,240 TESDA Specialistas, are now providing services to their
respective barangays and communities.
"These aggrupations consist of the Food and
Beverage Services, Welding Services, Caregiver Services, Computer Hardware
Services, Appliance Repair Services, Building Repair and Maintenance Services,
Beauty Care and Wellness Services and Auto/Vehicle Maintenance Services have
reported increases in income," Villanueva said in his report to President
Benigno S. Aquino III.
"In Batangas, the aggrupation in Beauty
Care and Wellness Services who used to be unemployed with no income is now
earning about P1,200 per day. The group is based in Batangas City Pier
providing their services to the passengers," Villanueva said.
Villanueva said the Shell Exploration Company –
Malampaya will donate P400,000 to the group to refurbish their business center.
"Joel Abilar, an automechanic who is part
of the TSTP aggrupation in Biliran is earning an average of P930 per day, far
beyond the meager salary of P250 he used to receive from his previous
employer," the TESDA chief said.
He said that the TESDA has already allocated a
total of P79.7 million for the purchase of tool kits/starter kits for the
certified TESDA Specialistas. He said more aggrupations in different trade
areas will be organized this year.
Last year, the TESDA Specialista
Technopreneurship Program (TSTP) was launched to provide alternative job
opportunities and contribute to the creation of livelihood enterprises to
TESDA-certified graduates.
In the same report to President Aquino,
Villanueva also disclosed the setting up of the TESDA – COCA COLA National
Convergence Program on Empowering Grassroots Women Retailers Program.
In support of promoting entrepreneurship to help
in job creation, the TESDA and the Coca Cola Philippines have agreed to tap the
women for a training program designed as a way of providing them opportunities
to earn or increase the potentials of their current businesses.
Under a renewed partnership, the TESDA and the
Coca-Cola Philippines recently signed the Memorandum of Agreement that firmed
up and expanded the National Convergence Program on Empowering Women Retailers.
Villanueva said a total of 100,000 women all
over the country are expected to benefit from this program which will run until
2020. (js)
Aquino lauds holding of ARMM local executives’
convention
DAVAO CITY: President Benigno S. Aquino III
lauded the holding of the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) LGU
(local government unit) Convention on Local Governance here, saying it showed the
seriousness of the region’s local executives to join efforts to weed out
corruption, corruptors, graft and grafters from government.
In his speech keynoting the event at the
Waterfront Davao Insular Hotel on Wednesday, the President said the former image
of ARMM as a lawless and frightening place was slowly but surely being changed
with the help of the LGUs.
“Ang mabuting pamamahala ay pundasyon ng matibay
na samahan at ugnayan, respeto, integridad, at pagpapahalaga sa tao-sa-taong
usapan --- ito ang mga prinsipyong itinataguyod upang makamit ang mithiing
magkaroon ng tapat at epektibong pamumuno sa ARMM,” the President said.
“Sagisag nga po ang pagbubuklod natin ngayon
upang paigtingin pa ang ating mabuting pamamahala tungo sa makabuluhan at
malawakang pagbabago sa rehiyon,” he added.
Among the reforms his administration has
implemented, with the help of the lawmakers, LGUs and the people of ARMM
themselves, is synchronizing the holding of the ARMM elections with that of its
national counterparts and the cleansing of the ARMM voter’s list.
“Iba na po ang istorya ngayon kung kailan
tinutugunan na natin ang mga problema. Ang una nating hakbang: pakiusapan ang
Kongreso na ipagpaliban ang eleksyon sa rehiyon at isabay ito sa lokal at
pambansang halalan. Gusto nating mapadama sa kanila, sa mabilisan at epektibong
paraan, ang kahulugan ng mabuting pamamahala,” the President said.
“Lilinisin na po natin ang voters list upang
ibalik ang halaga ng inyong boto. Bukod pa rito, nagpapatayo na po tayo ng
totoong paaralan at tinutuldukan na natin ang bakbakan na bumibiktima pati sa
mga inosenteng sibilyan sa pamamagitan ng mapayapang usapan sa MILF.
Nagpapasalamat po tayo sa buong ARMM sa pangunguna ni OIC Governor Mujiv
Hataman; di po magiging posible ang mga tagumpay na ito kung wala ang inyong
pakikiisa sa mabuting pamamahala,” he added.
He told the members of the ARMM local government
that these reforms were a significant opportunity to impress upon the people
that though good governance, the benefits of a better life for all was
possible.
“Binigyan po tayo ng pagkakataon upang patunayan
sa mga taga-ARMM na ang mabuting pamamahala ay nagbubunsod ng tunay na
pag-ginhawa,” the President said.
“Kaya naman huwag po nating sayangin ang
magandang pagkakataong ito. Huwag nating ipagpabukas pa ang kaya nating
isakatuparan ngayon para sa lalo pa nating pag-usad,” he added. (rck)
TESDA Online Programs gets wider reach;
graduates now gainfully employed
Anchored on President Benigno S. Aquino III’s
job-generation programs under his social contract with the Filipino people, the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) bared the
continuous implementation of the TESDA Online Program (TOP) which offers
training to interested individuals anytime, anywhere and with minimal cost.
In his report to President Benigno S. Aquino
III, TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva said that at present, the TESDA
Online Program (TOP) has at least 19,968 registered users since it was launched
last May and has already garnered 553,583 page views.
Villanueva added that the TOP graduates were now
gainfully employed, providing better quality of lives to their respective
families.
TESDA "Specialista" Griselle Claveria,
who took the Computer Hardware Servicing NC II online, is presently employed in
Singapore. Claveria said that she believes the program equipped her with the
necessary technical know-how that gave her an edge for her present job.
Another TESDA “Specialista” Jhonathan Luzano, a
former sales promoter, also gained a decent job as a laptop and computer
technician after finishing his online course and passing the national
competency assessment.
Initially, four (4) online courses are available
under the TOP, namely, the Computer Hardware Servicing NC II, Room Attendant
Servicing NC II, a core competency of the Housekeeping NC II and Cellphone
Servicing which is one of the competencies of the Consumer Electronics
Servicing NC II.
Villanueva said that the Aquino government is
targeting to offer a total of ten courses within the year as part of the
continuous development of the online education program. (jcl/1:30 p.m.)
Villanueva urges Filipinos to avail of TESDA
mobile learning centers
In efforts to implement the priorities of
President Benigno S. Aquino III to expand the reach of services offered by the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the
propagation of programs focused on the creation of more economic opportunities
for the Filipinos, TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva encouraged interested
Filipinos to hone and gain more skills under the TESDA Mobile Training plus
(Park and Train).
Launched last February during President Aquino’s
visit to the TESDA main office in Taguig City, the Mobile Training plus (Park
and Train) is the government’s innovative approach to bring the training
services to the grassroots level.
The Mobile Training plus complements the
classroom trainings given by TESDA through its partner institutions. It also
showcases the strong public-private partnership between the agency and the
private donors, which provide vehicles that were converted into mobile learning
centers.
The Mobile Training Bus has already conducted
training programs in Barangay Bagong SIlangan, one of the poorest communities
in Quezon City, with a total of 124 graduates and another in Barangay Tumana in
Marikina City with 141 graduates.
The courses under the Park and Train program
include Small Engine/Motorcycle Servicing, Electrical Installation and
Maintenance (EIM), Computer Hardware Servicing, Haircutting, Massage Therapy
and Community Disaster Management Program.’
Villanueva said that the park and train model is
replicated in the various regions of the country. In Region 7 alone, there are
eight (8) mobile training buses and another three (3) in Region 4A,
specifically in Batangas.
Many graduates from the Park and Train were now
employed, mostly into self-employment, uplifting the standards of their living
and their respective families. (jcl/2:20 p.m.)
