Tatak Agila of Davao joins national skills contest

The Region XI delegates (Tatak Agila Team) are all set for the December 5 to 9 Philippine National Skills Competition in four venues in Mmetro Manila - Mapua IT Center in Makati; UNITOR-Norwegian Training Center in Taguig; Baseco Site in Bagong Lupa; Robinson's Palace in Mandaluyong; and Gokongwei Brothers Foundation Technical Training Center in Pasig.

Composed of 32 competitors and 32 experts for various trade areas, the delegation left Davao on December 3 with TESDA XI and DSWD XI officials, partners and stakeholders. The competitors and experts come from various technical vocational education and training schools and industries. The competitors vying for gold medals in the national competition are the gold winners in the September 1 & 2 Regional Skills Competition at the Korea-Philippines Vocational Training Center in Davao.

The competitors have been practicing in their respective trade areas - Welding, Commercial Wiring, Masonry, Mechatronics, IT Software Application, and IT/PC Networking, among others.

Should they surpass the PNSC, the competitors will represent the country in the ASEAN Skills Competition next year which will be held in Brunei and also have the chance to compete in the World Skills Competition in 2007 in Japan.

The competition, which used to be known as Skills Olympics, serves as a venue for showcasing and recognizing the work excellence of young skilled workers and graduates in a competitive setting. Such activities are called for by Republic Act 7796, otherwise known as the TESDA Law, which mandates TESDA to conduct skills competitions to promote skills development of the Filipino workforce.