By Dhel Nazario
The Philippines’ "skilled labor force" played a vital role in the country's recent ranking as the “Best Country to Invest In” for 2018, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) said Monday.
According to the US News & World Report, the country ranked first among 80 countries as the best one to invest in based on scores given by "more than 6,000 business decision makers on a compilation of eight equally weighted country attributes: corruption, dynamism, economic stability, entrepreneurship, favorable tax environment, innovation, skilled labor force, and technological expertise."
In the reports of the US News & World Report survey and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Philippines’ highly-skilled labor force was cited as one of the main reasons for the country’s desirability to foreign investors.
The UNCTAD Report mentioned the increasing number of foreign direct investments (FDIs) in 2017, especially those coming from China, as among the reasons why the Philippines is progressive despite the decreasing FDIs in other Southeast Asia countries.
The TESDA chief said the reports are an inspiration and an honor for the agency because these reflect the government and the country’s efforts in giving the Filipino workforce the necessary in-demand skills for employment.
TESDA, the agency that manages the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system in the country, has continually guaranteed the excellence of trained workers by improving access to training, establishing and nurturing closer partnership with industry, and strengthening the delivery of quality training.
Under TVET, students can choose to learn from four training modalities: school-, center-, community-, and enterprise-based training programs.
Mamondiong also said that the Dual Training System (DTS) of TESDA, an example of enterprise-based training, is still the most effective platform for technical education in the country. The platform relies on the successful cooperation and coordination among Technical Vocational Institutions (TVIs), TESDA Technology Institutions (TTIs) and companies so that the trainees are taught to have the right attitude, knowledge, and employable set of skills.
The TESDA Language Skills Institute (LSI) also helps in the language training program for caregivers, nurses, domestic workers, and overseas Filipino workers who are seeking jobs abroad.