Techvoc graduates ready for ASEAN 2015

MANILA, Philippines - No worries for techvoc graduates even with the Southeast Asian Economies (ASEAN) integration in 2015.

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) chief Joel Villanueva gave assurances that  Filipino techvoc graduates are well capable to compete with workers from other Asean workers.

Villanueva noted that technical vocational education and training (TVET) in the Philippines has been prepared for  the challenges to be brought by the ASEAN integration.

He said TESDA has also continuously enhanced its partnerships with the private sector, industries and local government units to guarantee quality and relevant training and assure employment for the graduates.

“I am confident to say that our quality assured TVET system is ASEAN 2015-ready,” he said.

Villanueva said TESDA has long been preparing for the integration which is set to take effect next year.

“Since 2010, we have immersed ourselves in a culture of excellence and quality management, which I believe is a pre-requisite in the AEC (Asean Economic Community),” he pointed out.

He said TESDA’s processes for the Development of Training Regulations, Competency-based Curriculum Exemplar, and Competency Assessment Tools, as well as the processes for Program Registration and Assessment and Certification are all aligned with international standards.

In the first half of 2014, Villanueva said, TESDA has allocated some P140 million worth of scholarship vouchers to its partner organizations in the construction, garments, animation, electronics and semi-conductor, and IT-BPM industries.

TESDA also inked partnerships with World Vision for the operations of the TESDA Auto Mechanic Training Center and with the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce for the establishment of the TESDA Green Technology Center in Taguig.

“With the upcoming integration that is focused on education and jobs, it is imperative that we fortify our industry-based training programs,” Villanueva said.

TESDA is also stepping up its scholarship programs, namely the Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) and the Private Education Student Financial Assistance (PESFA).

It has also recently included the Special Training for Employment Program or STEP in the roster of its programs and is also seeking for alternative mechanisms on how to improve its enterprise-based training, especially the Apprenticeship Program and the Dual Training System.

Villanueva assured that the government exerted its best to make the Philippines at the frontline of the 10 ASEAN member countries.

Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and  Employment (DOLE) is now developing a Human Resource Development Plan to increase the productivity and readiness of  workers  in the sugarcane industry for the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) in 2015.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the HRD Plan will focus on the labor aspect of the sugar industry in support of the Sugarcane Industry Roadmap of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).

“There is a need to capacitate our sugarcane workers to enhance their productivity and empower them so that they can meet the challenges and maximize the opportunities in the implementation of AFTA 2015,” Baldoz explained.

DOLE will submit the Plan to national government agencies and the Sugar Tripartite Council in the second week of November.

Baldoz said the HRD Plan provides for  greater involvement of the District Tripartite Councils (DTCs), small planters, and sugar workers in policy- and decision-making; development and training of sugar workers through capacity-building, skills training, and promotion of proper work attitudes; and promotion and protection of livelihood and employment; and risk and hazards management.

SRA warned that the AFTA 2015 implementation could lead to the displacement of 600,000 sugar workers nationwide.       

According to SRA, the tariff on imported sugar will be decreased to  five percent resulting  to greater competition for locally produced sugar upon the implementation of  Common Effective Preferential Tariff scheme under AFTA 2015.

“In order to keep pace with the competition, the government aims to increase the efficiency and competitiveness of the sugar industry. This can be done not only through an increase in production, but also through the enhancement of productivity and empowerment of sugarcane field workers, small sugarcane farmers, mill workers, and other workers in the sugar industry,” Baldoz said.