BAGUIO CITY – One giant leap for the people of Cordillera and for technical and vocational education and training in this country.
That’s how Congressman Mark Go described the establishment of the Cordillera State Institute of Technical Education (CSITE) which was officially launched on Sept. 9 (Friday) right on its campus located at Military Cut-Off Baguio City.
Congressman Go is the principal author of Republic Act 1192 which created the technical-vocational school referred to as a State Skills Institute in the Cordillera Administrative Region.
The school is under the supervision of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) which will incorporate the Baguio City School of Arts and Trades, the TESDA Regional Training Center-Baguio City, the TESDA Provincial Training Centers in Abra, Ifugao, Benguet, Kalinga and Mountain Province, the Local Government Unit (LGU) Provincial Training Center in Apayao, and other State-run technical-vocational institutions (TVIs) in the region.
Congressman Go said RA 1192 is a landmark legislation and the first of its kind in creating a tech-voc institute mandated to cater to an entire region.
The creation of CSITE is in response to the rapidly changing technical skills priorities and competency demands.
It seeks to increase the absorptive capacity and improve the institutional capabilities of our existing tech-voc institutions in the Cordilleras.
This integration would create a synergy leading to significant improvements in how we administer and develop technical-vocational education in our region and ensure that Cordillerans have access to quality and up-to-date technical education and skills training, consistent with the needs of Cordillera and responsive to the demands of today, said Go.
In addition, the creation of more polytechnic institutions all over the country is among the strategic plans of TESDA for the coming years, and CSITE shall serve as the model for plans currently in the pipeline.
The creation of CSITE is a genuine investment on human development and a bold statement of faith on the strength and potential of our people in the Cordillera.
The Institute will soon offer a wide array of courses of the following TESDA registered technical vocational and short-term training programs in agriculture-related training, industrial technology and hard trades, tourism and hospitality, health and wellness training, basic business literacy training.
It would also offer courses on computer literacy and Information Technology (IT) related skills, and other preferred priority skills and trades training courses relevant to the needs of the localities served within the operational radius of the institute and the whole CAR to enhance their capacities for livelihood, gainful employment, and practical entrepreneurship skills.
The integration of the TESDA Technology Institutions in the Cordillera into a one system-one institution was envisioned and conceptualized by former BCSAT Administrator David Bungallon and Former TESDA-CAR Regional Director Francisco Jucar, Jr.