San Miguel Corporation, in partnership with the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA),is expanding its skills training program for Taliptip residents to include more all residents of Bulacan.

In a statement, SMC said the pilot batch of former Taliptip residents trainees are looking to graduate very soon from their skills training under TESDA and the firm will soon open the program to more Bulacan residents in the next coming months. 

With positive feedback coming from the initial 60 enrollees, SMC President Ramon S. Ang  said  SMC and TESDA have already been receiving a lot of inquiries for the succeeding batches. 

“We are very pleased with the reports that the initial batch of enrollees who are formerly from Barangay Taliptip are very eager to learn and are doing well in their training,” he said.

Ang added that, “We appreciate their effort in learning new skills during the pandemic as this shows their eagerness and pride to participate in a game-changer of a project that will not only benefit them, but also the generations to come.

TESDA provincial director Jovencio Ferrer, Jr. confirmed that the pilot batch is performing well, noting that “I see the ongoing training as effective since the graduates are equipped to become competent in their field of choice and prepared for either wage or self-employment.”  

The TESDA courses include the heavy equipment/hydraulic excavator course, shielded metal arc welding, electrical installation and maintenance, dressmaking, and cookery.

The pilot batch will undergo up to 20) days of training in their chosen courses and three days of entrepreneurship training. Those who will opt for self-employment and set up their own business will be given toolkits like welding machines, sewing machines, and other equipment.

“The toolkits to be given are a good starter component in setting up their respective enterprises and put into practice their hard-earned skills,” Ferrer explained.

Once they complete the training programs, students will undergo the TESDA skills assessment test before National Certificates or NCII are awarded.

Graduates of heavy equipment/hydraulic excavator course, electrical installation and maintenance, and shielded metal arc welding courses will be referred to SMC Aerocity, SMC’s company under SMC Infrastructure that handles the airport development.

“We thank TESDA again for helping us in equipping the Bulacan residents with additional and new skills that will come in handy for those who want to work for us, or establish businesses that will cater not only to the airport but also to their respective communities as well. We need to work together to be able to ensure that the benefits of this airport will reach everyone and that it serves as an impetus for the country’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic,” Ang said. The initial 60 students mostly came from the 277 families that include former fishpond caretakers or workers who were living in houses on stilts at the coastal areas of Taliptip.(