CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) — The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is encouraging the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions to build partnerships with businesses and companies.
During the 23rd Human Resource and Skills Development (HRSD) Conference attended by private and public institutions, TESDA emphasized the importance of industry engagement as TVET institutions play a crucial role in bolstering local appreciation of the skills and technical vocation education through partnerships with the industry.
“Businesses locally have to gain that appreciation, and the TVET schools, the TVEIs that we have in the conference are probably the best proponents and marketers of what skills training can mean and why is it important for businesses and industry to recognize it the way it is recognized globally,” said TESDA director general Sec. Jose Francisco ‘Kiko’ Benitez in a press conference prior to the conference.
Benitez encouraged the TVET institutions to engage with industry partners as businesses and companies have a larger and better appreciation for what skills and technical vocation education can generate and create.
“So that industry is much more accepting of skills-based certification locally,” Benitez added.
TVET institutions’ partnership with the industry also means auxiliary support to TESDA’s objective of increasing the size or share of the enterprise-based skills.
Recently, Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. signed the Republic Act No. 12063, or the “Enterprise-Based Education and Training (EBET) Framework Act,” which opens opportunities for experiential and immersive learning to acquire skills needed by industry and addresses job-skills mismatch in the labor market.
“The passage of the law in law makes sure that TESDA needs to, in fact, pivot and increase its enterprise-based education and training which for the TVET members here, what it will require is a stronger partnership within the industry,” Benitez said.
The TESDA chief envisions building a dynamic ‘TVET system’ that produces competitive and agile graduates.
“Our graduates must have the foundational skills and the attitude and work readiness to understand that they too have to be resilient, adaptable, creative, and engaged,” Benitez said.
Around 500 representatives of TVET public and private institutions from Visayas and Mindanao regions attended the conference, which is organized annually by the Mindanao Technical-Vocational Association, Inc. (MinTVET) for the past 22 years.
MinTVET president John Franco revealed that this is the first time that this conference was brought outside Mindanao.
“Here we are, the first for its kind that the Human Resource and Skills Development Conference of the Mindanao TVET is being held here in the Visayas, especially here in Cebu,” Franco said. (JJT/PIA 7 Cebu)
