TESDA synching curriculum with CHED, DepEd

CEBU, Philippines - There is now an on-going curriculum harmonization among the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

TESDA director-general Joel Villanueva said that it was the Philippine Qualification Framework that initiated this to ensure that the curriculum offered is what the industry needs.

It can be recalled that President Benigno Aquino III signed Executive Order 83 that put in place an integrated system of quality education to address the mismatch in jobs and skills and generate employment.

PQF is a national policy that weaves together basic education, technical-vocational education, and higher education into one coherent, quality-assured instrument for classifying qualifications.

For TESDA, Villanueva said that there is now a continuous effort for a consultation and partnership with different industries to ensure that TESDA Tech-Voc graduates will be gainfully employed right after graduation.

“As of now, the big chunk of our college students are enrolled in oversubscribed courses,” said Villanueva during a press conference here after TESDA’s Jobs Bridging Program held at the University of Cebu main campus.

He said that the agriculture sector has a huge demand for skilled workers and yet almost none of the students prefer to take a course in agriculture.

The job fair yesterday, which was done in coordination with TESDA-Cebu Province and the Department of Labor and Employment-7, aims to fill the void from graduation to employment.

Dubbed “Hanapbuhay para sa mga TESDA Specialistas: A Jobs Bridging Program” the event gathered 40 local companies and 20 overseas companies in search of local employees and for workers for deployment overseas, respectively.

“We will continue to step up our efforts in providing relevant and quality training to our labor force. But in between, we will also do our duty in matching skills with the right job, and this is what the jobs bridging program hopes to accomplish,” said Villanueva in a separate statement. —/BRP (FREEMAN)