BAGUIO CITY (PIA) — The Department of Tourism (DOT) continues to collaborate with other agencies for the conduct of training to enhance skills of people in the tourism sector to promote service excellence, and enhance overall tourist experience.
During the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas here on Tuesday (July 9), DOT Cordillera Regional Director Jovita Ganongan and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) CAR Assistant Regional Director Glenn Murphy signed a memorandum of agreement to enhance the employable skills and competency standards of workers in the tourism sector in the region
Under the MOA, the DOT-CAR and TESDA-CAR will align training and scholarship programs with national competency standards and guidelines to facilitate employment and career enhancement of graduates in the tourism sector, displaced or unemployed tourism workers, currently employed tourism workers that needed TESDA’s National Certification and other qualified stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industry.
Training scholarships involve housekeeping, front office, bread and pastry production, cookery, barista, bartending, events management, tour guiding and foreign language courses.
Murphy informed that there are 493 scholars with ongoing trainings under this partnership.
The agreement is a regional version of a national MOA signed by the secretaries of the DOT and TESDA last August 24, 2023 that aims to maintain international standards of excellence in tourism facilities and services and to ensure highly skilled workers in the tourism industry.
Ganongan also shared that under the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE) 100K challenge in 2023, the DOT–CAR committed to train 6,000, but actually trained 6,295 front line tourism workers.
A flagship training program of DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, it envisions to provide all front liners in the tourism and hospitality industry with a benchmark on how to render excellent service to our tourists the Filipino way and make it our brand.
Under the Tourism Industry Capacity Building Program, Ganongan also reported training initiatives in 2023 which include Festival Management for local Government Units, Basic Life Support for members of the Mt. Pulag Eco-tour guides and Porters Association in Kabayan, Benguet and training for TOPCOP or Tourist-Oriented Police and Community Order and Peace.
The DOT-CAR also conducted the KAPWA or Katutubo-Katuwang sa Pag-unlad at Pagwagi training program in partnership with the National Commission on Indigenous People. This aims to assist indigenous cultural communities and indigenous people organizations in tourism development.
“These additional training programs provided comprehensive support to our tourism sector, ensuring that workers are well-prepared across various facets of the industry. By enhancing the skills and capabilities of our workforce, we aim to offer a richer, more memorable experience to all visitors and sustain the growth and development of tourism in our region,” Ganongan said.
The DOT-CAR joined other DOT regional offices nationwide in the conduct of the synchronized kapihan forum to report their accomplishments, programs and initiatives under the Bagong Pilipinas brand of governance of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (CCD-PIA CAR)
