MANILA: The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has inked 2,050 partnerships in the first quarter of 2024, more than doubling its target of 1,000 for the period.
In an interview, TESDA Partnerships and Linkages Office (PLO) director Floramel Joy Songsong said TESDA was able to secure 2,050 new partnerships with both the government and industry stakeholders in the first three months of the year, compared to the 800 contracts as of December 2023.
“These partnerships range from enterprise-based training, training of trainers, promotion of TESDA advocacies, facility development or upgrade,” Songsong told the Philippine News Agency.
She added that partnerships also include employment of TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) graduates, as well as support for the country’s participation in the World Skills Competition in 2025.
The levels of engagement for these partnerships are provincial, regional, and national.
Since these are many, Songsong assured that the PLO has d
eveloped, and maintains a monitoring system.
“There are guidelines to assist TESDA operating units on how to implement and monitor the stakeholders’ engagements,” she said.
The TESDA official added that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed TESDA to provide upskilling and reskilling training to frontliners in government service, thus some of the new forged partnerships are with the government sector.
Among the partnerships include the partnership with Bossjob, a chat-first career platform for professional hiring in Southeast Asia. Under the partnership, Bossjob will offer training programs tailored to the needs of TESDA graduates.
Further, Bossjob will provide job and career development opportunities.
The PLO is currently gearing towards the development of international partnerships for the second quarter.
“At the same time, (TESDA) will be working on conducting capacity-building program for the recently-forged partnerships,” Songsong said.
Songsong also noted that TESDA has been consistently on
top of the Performance and Trust rating surveys conducted quarterly by Publicus Asia.
“This affirms TESDA’s commitment to deliver its mandate on social equity and poverty reduction by developing highly-skilled Filipino workforce that is globally competitive and workforce-ready. Who wouldn’t want to partner with a trustworthy government agency?” she said.
Source: Philippines News Agency