TESDA enrollees and graduates increasing

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City continues to be a priority city for the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority for its leading courses due to the growth in sectors that are dominant in the city.

This was revealed by TESDA Secretary Emmanuel Villanueva during the Regional Skills competition opening yesterday where he was the keynote speaker.

Accoring to Villanueva, they are continuously seeing the growth in the number of TESDA enrollees and graduates every year all over the country especially in Region 7.

Villanueva said that the increase in the technical education and training graduates are increasing because “a lot of people are realizing that it’s not true that the only way to succeed is to finish college.”

He clarified though that finishing school is still important but for those who are not that privileged to do so, they still have a great chance to work and earn a lot if they are skilled.

The TESDA Secretary stated that over P60 million worth of scholarship assistance are in Region 7 and P30 million alone is allocated to Cebu.

More scholarship grants are to be released, Villanueva announced, due to the P1.1 billion that President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino has released for TESDA, which half would go to training more potential employees for the Business Process Outsourcing industry.

He said that over 80,000 jobs are available in this industry alone, not including more for health, construction, retail and more.

Villanueva said that aside from them focusing on the education sector, they would also be more sensitive to the needs of the different employment sectors in order to provide more quality workers. 

In his speech, Villanueva asked for an end to discrimination against technical-vocational course graduates over college graduates.

He added that due to the success of the employment rate of Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) graduates, even college graduates are taking courses and more professionals are considering on shifting career paths starting by taking TESDA-accredited courses.

Employment rate for TVET graduates have increased to 60-62 percent, according to Villanueva. This is an increase from the previous 15 percent under the previous TESDA administration.

Villanueva acknowledged the 2011 Regional Skills Competition held in Parkmall, Mandaue City, Cebu since it would raise public awareness on TVET and showcase the talents and skills that the students have. (FREEMAN)