School-Industry Partnership for Global Competitiveness through DTS

Halloween is past approaching and many people are already planning how to spend it from what scary movies to watch to the freaky costumes to wear.

But here’s one horror story we should not ignore:  Almost half a million college students graduate in our country every year. A recent survey conducted by the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP), an organization of HR practitioners and people managers, revealed that 40% of job applicants fail in the job interview and most of them are fresh graduates.

This is one disturbing tale that should not be happening considering our country is home to world-class skills and talents.  We have the best boxer in the world in Manny Pacquiao. It is in this land that the enchanting voices of Leah Salonga, Arnel Pineda and Charice were first heard. Dado Banatao, the Father of Semiconductor, has changed the way we live today with his innovative inventions . They are just some living proofs that Filipinos are globally competitive. 

Now going back to the horror story of college students, how can we have a happy ending? How can we improve their employability and readiness to work after graduation?

Thank God for TESDA!

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority have been implementing programs that aim to develop the skills of every Filipino who want to have a brighter future. One of them is the ideal training modality for enterprise-based training called dual training system (DTS).

DTS combines theoretical and practical training where learning takes place in two venues: the school and the work area of a partner company. With close coordination between the school and office, the trainees are groomed to be fully equipped with employable skills, work knowledge, and attitudes at the end of the training.  Under the DTS, a participant undergoes at least 40 percent of the training/learning time in school and 60 percent for practical training in the company.

TESDA, under the leadership of Director General Joel Villanueva, is celebrating the 2012 Dual Training System Week from October 21-28 with the theme “School-Industry Partnership for Global Competitiveness through DTS.”  The German model of DTS was first practiced in the 80’s through a joint project of the Southeast Asian Science Foundation and the Hanns Seidel Foundation in the pioneer school- Dualtech Training Center. In 1994, DTS was institutionalized in accredited public and private educational institutions, training centers, and agricultural, industrial and business establishments through Republic Act No. 7686 under the administration of then President Fidel V. Ramos.

Since then, TESDA has been the leading government institution that promotes, coordinates, and administers the dual training system.

A landmark year was in 2009 when 348 companies and 57 schools were accredited in the DTS program with 1,187 trainees competing their training during the year in various courses like automotive and motorcycle technology, refrigeration and air-conditioning, network administration, marine technology and others. 

For inquiries on TESDA programs and services, call 887-7777 or email contactcenter@tesda.gov.ph. You may also visit www.tesda.gov.ph for updates and important announcements.

 

No to TAMAD, Yes to TESDA

Most Filipinos get offended when they are branded as tamad or lazy.

You hear the word almost every day from annoyed wives to their complacent spouses...  upset parents to their easy-go-lucky children... angry bosses to their unproductive employees... and even from unsatisfied citizens to ineffective government officials.

We get offended by the word but still, we don’t do anything to improve the situation (tamad nga, eh.)

That’s why tamad is often associated to the tambays (bums) and people who finds joy spending the the whole day staring at the wall. I also came out with my own meaning for TAMAD as in Taga-abang ng Awa ng Magulang At Diyos. 

The unemployment rate in Philippines, a country with a 92-million population, was last reported at 6.9 percent in April this year.  I am not saying that all of those belonging to the statistic are lazy individuals because there are a lot of factors that led to people to being unemployed. 

Some blame it to the lack of opportunities in our country  but believe it or not, there are still tens of thousands of unfilled positions in the BPO sector alone on top of the 638,000 people already hired in the industry in 2011. 

The real issue is while many Filipinos apply for work in IT-BPO companies, at present the hiring rate is just 5 to 10%. Most applicants do not make the cut because they lack the necessary qualifications, skills, and professional expertise. Now, if you’re someone who spent months or even years looking for a job but only gets rejected in every attempt , more likely you’ll be a tambay and eventually get used to it until you get labelled as tamad.

But this should not be happening since the national government have been reaching out  the unemployed, youth and elderly and OFW sector in enhancing the skills and capability of willing individuals to be more productive and employable.  One of the forefront of such initiatives is the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), now on its 18^th year of service, which has launched innovative approaches in implementing training programs.

Villanueva during the presentations of the donated buses from Genesis Transport Services, Inc. for TESDA's classroom on wheels project.
(Photo credit: www.tesda.gov.ph)

Under the leadership of Director General Joel Villanueva, TESDA has launched classrooms on wheels, TESDA Online or TOP and other programs especially created to the less privileged who can’t afford high-cost education. Villanueva envisions that his programs will bring tech-voc trainings to the grassroots by offering the flexibility of distance learning without sacrificing the quality of teaching. After the training, enrolees can go to the nearest TESDA-accredited centers nationwide to get accessed and certified. 

People can also opt to enroll in any TESDA training centers if they prefer to experience a classroom style approach and choose from different courses from automotive to caregiver training  to electronics and a lot more. You can visit www.tesda.gov.ph for the complete list of courses offered and other details.

 Now, there’s definitely no reason to be tamad because as what they say, “Sa TESDA, May Choice Ka!”  

This blog post is officially entered in the TESDA Blog Contest. I hope you can share and/or like my entry by visiting the TESDA official fan page.