FUSE tackles tech-voc option for poor students

MANILA, Philippines - Strong ties between learning institutions, local government units and private companies in developing technical-vocational education and training (TVET) programs is key to providing better employment opportunities for underprivileged youth, according to an official of a leading tech-voc school in the country.

 Fr. Jose Dindo Vitug, technical director of the Don Bosco Technical Vocational Education and Training Center (Makati), said the partnership between Don Bosco and corporate firms – especially with automotive and technology-based companies – greatly benefited students taking up the 10-month technical-vocational program in their 21 training centers across the country.

 “Most graduates of the Don Bosco program are absorbed by the companies where they took up their on-the-job training (OJT). In fact, a leading company in Dubai has recruited many of our highly skilled and competent students,” Vitug told members of the Foundation for Upgrading the Standard of Education (FUSE).

 FUSE president Fr. Onofre Inocencio Jr. said the training centers provide out-of-school youth skills for employment. Such advocacy is fully supported by the Department of Education (DepEd) and FUSE, a non-profit NGO helping to improve the quality of education.

 “In a dialogue with Education Secretary Armin Luistro, we were tasked to develop collaboratively with DepEd a senior high school (SHS) Tech-Voc Track model for adult learners who need not be subjected to the same academic rigors of college-bound students,” said Inocencio, who is also superintendent of the Don Bosco Schools and TVET Centers.

 The SHS Tech-Voc Track, he said, also addresses the concern of students who are 17 years old and above but have not completed the academic requirements for formal tech-voc training. The centers facilitate fulfillment of this requirement through alternative learning system modules where students can earn a high school diploma upon completion of the program. 

“If FUSE is to address the greater majority of students in the Philippines and upgrade the standard of education, it would be in the area of technology where FUSE would be more relevant. I think it should be a priority concern of FUSE during this time when the educational landscape has shifted. There is an impoverished source for teacher training in the area of tech-voc education,” Inocencio said.

The TVET Centers has an annual enrollment of 4,000 students undergoing rigorous training in automotive, welding, refrigeration and air-conditioning, electrical and electronics.

Inocencio said school administrators hesitate to offer the program because it requires sizeable financial investment in equipment and facilities, laboratory, consummables and highly skilled instructors with industry experience.

“This is where strong linkages among tech-voc schools, industries and LGUs come in handy,” he stressed.