TAGUM CITY—- The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has suspended the registration of new schools offering care-giving courses due to a large number of graduates who have yet to find jobs.
TESDA Davao del Norte provincial director Nestor Tabada, in an interview during the Kapihan sa Kapitolyo, explained that this is a nationwide order from the national office of TESDA. Tabada did not go into details about the magnitude of the unemployed graduates of care-giving courses. He did clarify that existing training schools for caregivers can still continue to operate.
TESDA has also started informing administrators of technical-vocational (tech-voc) schools regarding its policy not to give certifications to programs which fail to register a 55-percent placement or employment rate of their graduates and a 75-percent passing rate in competency assessment, in three consecutive batches.
Tabada admitted that this policy was only issued in February this year and that TESDA has yet to decree any tech-voc program up for closure. This policy runs in line with TESDA’s principle of seek-find-train way, which aims to match the industry’s demand with the right skills of workers so there won’t be a mismatch between jobseekers and available jobs.
TESDA is also encouraging institutions interested to go into tech-voc courses to offer those which have not been offered but are in demand in the market.
While information and technology courses are flourishing and the demand for graduates of these courses is high, Tabada cites that animation has not been widely offered and that this skill is also much sought-after. He reports that other tech-voc skills currently in demand are construction, welding, hotel and restaurant and call center services.
TESDA reports that tech-voc skills have hit a 60 percent placement rate based on their recent tracer study and that enrollment rate in schools offering tech-voc courses and programs increases an average of 10 to 15 percent yearly.(PIA)
