By Vanne Elaine Terrazola The bill that would grant free technical-vocational education and training (TVET) to qualified Filipinos is close to becoming a law after both houses of Congress ratified the measure. Sen. Joel Villanueva
(Senate of the Philippines Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN) The Senate and House of Representatives have approved recently the bicameral conference committee report consolidating Senate Bill 1431 and House Bill 8139, which seeks to increase the funding for technical and vocational trainings through the creation of a "Tulong-Trabaho Fund." Sen. Joel Villanueva, sponsor of the measure and chair of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development, said the Tulong Trabaho Fund will "provide qualified recipients with access to TVET training programs through the full payment of the selected programs’ training fees." The fund could also be used to provide additional financial assistance to recipients such as transportation allowance and laboratory fees if needed, he added. The Tulong Trabaho Fund shall be allocated as part of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority's (TESDA) annual budget. The measure would also institute the Philippine Labor Force Competencies Competitiveness Program to ensure that individuals meet the demands of industries and equip them the right skills for the job. Under the program, the TESDA board shall approve the list of eligible applications based on the recommendation of the TESDA secretariat. The recipients of the Tulong-Trabaho fund would be evaluated periodically to ensure that at least 80 percent of the beneficiaries would be certified after the training program. Failure to meet the passing rate would subject the recipient industry board to performance review and audit by the TESDA board, according to the bill. "Hence, the reconciled bill involves industry bodies in the determination of qualified recipients of the Tulong-Trabaho Fund," Villanueva said in sponsoring of the bicam-approved measure on Tuesday, December 11. The senator said this would specifically address unemployment in the country, particularly for those who did not pursue tertiary education. "Sa panukalang batas na ito, ang ‘tulong’ ay ginawa po nating obligasyon ng gobyerno at ang programa para tiyaking akma ang kakayahan ng ating mga kababayan ay ginawa nating bahagi ng responsibilidad ng mga employers o industry bodies (In this bill, we made 'assistance' an obligation of government and we also included employers and industries in ensuring that our fellowmen are fit for the job)," he said. The House also approved the bicam report on the Tulong Trabaho Fund on the same day, December 11. According to Villanueva, TESDA received P2.2 billion for its Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) last year. He said the amount for TWSP remained the same for this year despite the increasing demand for tech-voc courses. Citing TESDA records, Villanueva noted that enrollees of tech-voc courses increased sharply by 45 percent or 2.3 million in 2015 from 1.6 million enrollees in 2010.