TESDA bares plan to offer students technical vocational training online

By INA HERNANDO-MALIPOT

June 6, 2011, 5:32pm

MANILA, Philippines — To provide more access to students who want to take up technical and vocational training, the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) is set to make tech-voc training available online.

According to TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva, technical vocational training in the country will only be a stroke of the keyboard away very soon after unveiling a plan to make tech-voc education available through the Internet for students nationwide.

“The online tech-voc training is now in the works and would be available at first to select courses,” he said.

Distance learning through the Internet, said Villanueva, will make technical vocational education more accessible, “especially for overseas Filipino workers who are already abroad but who want to hone their skills or learn other skills.”

Once the infrastructure has been set in place, “TESDA’s students will have a choice whether to study on-site or online.”

Currently, TESDA offers two scholarship programs: the Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) and the Private Education Student Fund Assistance (PESFA) program.
With the new school year, Villanueva said technical vocational training offered by the agency nationwide can be a viable alternative to the people.

He said the growing relevance of technical vocational education to students for being affordable, accessible and one that gives graduates high value of employability has put it into the spotlight.

“We are all aware of the high cost of education. However, this should no longer be a hindrance to our students to pursue a career,” said Villanueva.

“Technical vocational education is here to develop and hone the skills of students who soon will be part of the country’s workforce,” he added.

Villanueva also said that students can avail themselves of TESDA’s community- based and enterprise-based system, which includes the Dual Training System, a mode of delivery that combines learning in school and in a company.

This would provide practical workplace experience that is often required by companies. He said TESDA wants to go beyond the confines of the classroom and want people to have more choices.

“TESDA, with adequate resources, will continue to work in making technical vocational training curriculum relevant to the world of work, increase access to it, continue special training to instructors, and improve and upgrade physical facilities for students,” he said.