Take up techvoc courses, high school graduates urged

MANILA, Philippines - While awaiting delayed opening of classes in four universities, high school graduates may spend their time wisely and take up technical vocation courses.

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) director general Joel Villanueva yesterday urged high school graduates to enroll in techvoc courses during the long vacation.

Villanueva noted that four universities — Ateneo de Manila, University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines and De La Salle University — will open the new school year sometime in July, August and September.

“This gives the high school graduates three to five months of free time, which can be used productively if they will enroll in a tech-voc course,” Villanueva pointed out.

Instead of spending idle months, Villanueva said,  high school graduates may enroll in a tech-voc “I urge our youth to find the means to be productive. Being a tambay (idle) after high school is not totally cool,” he noted.

He  further urged the parents of the high school graduates to encourage and support their children who want to get into tech-voc, which Villanueva said would be a worthy investment. 

This early, Villanueva said, high school graduates should begin mapping out their career path, knowing what they want to learn, and how to get there.

Villanueva said  high school graduates should think out of the box and see beyond the traditional college course education.

“It’s not always college education equals job equals success,” he pointed out.

According to Villanueva,  jobs come easy when one possesses the knowledge and skills relevant to what the industries and employers need.

Villanueva said graduates should also think global and learn things that will open up a wide array of employment opportunities.

He said TESDA and its network of public and private institutions offer a host of courses that can be completed in a short period of time; some even in less than a month. There are close to 20,000 programs in various institutions that are registered with the agency.

TESDA also has apprenticeship programs that involve actual work exposure and prepare the youth to the world of work.