More students now choose to take a technical-vocational course, Technical and Skills Development Authority Director General Joel Villanueva said Wednesday.
At the 1st Technical Education and Skills Development Congress in Pasay City, Villanueva said the enrolment of students in various TESDA courses is on a rise.
"When we launched the
TESDA Online Program, we never thought it would spread quickly across cyberspace, confirming our belief that more Filipinos are choosing the path to tech-voc training," Villanueva said.
The online program was launched in May and allows students here and abroad to take tech-voc courses online.
He said this upward trend prompted them to develop new training regulations on emerging skills as there is also a high demand for skilled workers.
"In monitoring the employment demand from various job portals and through our very own labor market intelligence reports, it goes almost without saying that the demand for skilled workers beat the demand for professionals," he said.
Villanueva said at least 37,000 students are enrolled in the online program as of August.
Villanueva said TESDA is slowly changing the Filipino mindset of having a college degree as better than taking up technical and vocational courses.
"The biggest challenge is changing the mindset of Filipinos towards the value of work. But we have accomplished big things in small steps – many of us now look at work not as manual and menial but an exercise of the hands, the brain, and the heart," he said.
Villanueva cited a recent survey which showed that employer satisfaction was high when it comes to work performance of tech-voc graduates.
The survey, conducted in more than 5,000 establishments, revealed that a high percentage of the establishment (86.1 percent) said that they are either “very satisfied†(43.3 percent) or “somewhat satisfied†(42.8 percent) with the work and performance of the graduates.
Villanueva said tech-voc education is one of the best investments of a country in attaining inclusive growth.
“We need to muster the support from all stakeholders, particularly the employers sector, to ensure that the TVET system responds to the needs of the economy and in providing new knowledge, skills and attitudes required for today’s market,†he said.
TESDA will also play a key role in the K to 12 program of the Department of Education because of the introduction of tech-voc education training (TVET) programs in senior high school.
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