BATANGAS CITY, (PNA) — Some 50 trainees completed the technical and vocational courses recently under the auspices of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in this city.
TESDA offered the tech-voc courses on structural wielding, scaffolding, food and beverage servicing, consumer electronic servicing under the industrial skills straining program.
The tech-voc training program is a joint undertaking of the Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. (PSFI), TESDA, Lyceum of the Philippines, University of Batangas, Keppel Philippines Marine Inc. and a fast food chain.
PSFI Executive Director Edgardo Veron Cruz inspired the student-trainees to value their educational training and studies whether these are technical or vocational courses as these could also contribute to the graduates’ success.
He appealed not to underestimate tech-voc courses because these are skills and capability trainings that could easily land skill-based jobs more than those who completed the four-year course.
Keppel Philippines Marine Inc. HRD and administrative manager Cirilo Baylosis explained that their trainees would undergo the 15-day skills training on scaffolding at the Keppel Batangas Upgrading and Training Center.
Baylosis added that after completion of the tech-voc course, the trainees will undergo the 800-manhours apprenticeship right at the actual shipbuilding workplace at the Keppel Shipyard Batangas.
According to Baylosis, most of the trainees have been absorbed as regular workers in the shipbuilding company especially with Keppel’s mass hiring for workers producing quality ships from their fabrication yard.
Meanwhile in Padre Garcia, Batangas, TESDA also intensified its community based training to afford the Garcianos basic yet decent jobs and livelihood for aspiring micro and small entrepreneurs.
TESDA–Batangas provincial director Caloy Flores said that the government skills training agency has forged training partnerships with non-government and people’s organizations and local government units based on their members or beneficiaries’ training needs.
Flores assured that TESDA-Batangas will continue to provide the training programs for the common man and informal sectors to help them engage in gainful self-employment, livelihood and small businesses they can engage in as sources of income.
TESDA courses offered included domestic appliance technician where the participants were trained on basic domestic repair works or home-based repair shop.
Flores said the basic repair skills training program teaches people to “do-it-yourself-at-home” instead of the burden in bringing the appliances with slight defects or broken equipment to the repair shop.
The skills training and capability-building would also transform basic technician and home-based repair work as a means of livelihood and a home-based occupation.
TESDA is also conducting basic driving skills training and learning on the traffic code, driving rules and courtesies.Mothers were also taught on basic massage and on meat processing where they could be guided to start a small and home-based business.