3 people take STEP to their own businesses
Published Feb 8, 2022 06:47 pm
• A motorcycle enthusiast and two housewives hone skills to enhance their livelihood.
• STEP (Special Training for Employment Program) offered free training sessions.
• With the dream to become a motovlogger, Paul Buenaventura enrolled in Motorcycle and Small Engine System (MSES) training course.
• Vilma Lemorinas and Ruby Mijares, both housewives who like cooking, joined a pastry making course and have gone into business.
By Khriscielle Yalao
A motorcycle enthusiast, Paul Buenaventura, dreamed of becoming a “motovlogger,” learning the skill from YouTube tutorial videos. To enhance his craft, he studied electrical wiring and installation for motorcycles. Not only did he learn the standard procedures of motor repair work, but also the basic principles of being a mechanic. He is now on his way to his YouTube dream.
Buenaventura inspects a motorcycle engine and organizes the electrical lines on the wiring board. (Photo courtesy of Paul Buenaventura / MANILA BULLETIN)
Vilma Lemorinas, a housewife, had always been interested in baking, coming from a fondness for cooking. She learned how to bake from tutorial videos on YouTube. Like her, Ruby Mijares, also a housewife, had a passion for cooking which led to baking, and has now inspired her to dream of having her own bakeshop someday.
The three fed their yearning to learn by joining the Special Training for Employment Program (STEP) facilitated by the Quezon City Skills and Livelihood Foundation Inc. (QCSLFI).
Buenaventura, 29, who is self-employed with three small businesses, enrolled in STEP’s Motorcycle and Small Engine System (MSES) training course.
Aside from gaining general knowledge, he wanted to learn how to repair motorcycles on the road, particularly in emergency situations.
He currently has a personal Facebook blog, “Motovation” – where he shares what he knows about motorcycles and motorcycling.
He emphasized that having formal training and being certified is important in his endeavor so that his followers will trust the information he shares, such as the proper maintenance of motorcycles.
By interacting with like-minded motorcycle enthusiasts in the program, he started thinking of opening an oil-supply business where he plans to sell local quality oils for daily use, racing, and touring.
As a high school graduate, Buenaventura stressed the importance of continuing education through free training programs.
“Nakakaboost ng self-esteem dahil kahit hindi ka nakapagtapos ng college, may certificate ka na maipapakita that you are a skilled person (The program will boost your self-esteem because even if you did not finish college, you have a certificate that shows you are a skilled person),” Buenaventura said.
Pastries for profit
Lemorinas, 46, and Mijares, 42, enrolled in STEP’s pastry making course. They had sessions where they baked in groups, as well as individual assessments where they were judged based on individual work.
Lemorinas said her favorite parts of the program were the individual assessment sessions that enabled her to showcase her skills and creativity, and the lessons on plating and the art of presenting food to be aesthetically pleasing.
Mijares said the program also introduced her to entrepreneurship because they were taught how to properly compute their expenses to prepare them to go into business.
Lemorinas prepares the pastries she baked, utilizing the skills they learned in their plating and preparation lessons. (Photo courtesy of Vilma Lemorinas)
Mijares said the free skills training program allowed her to hone her skills so that she could provide for the needs of her family during the pandemic.
“Magunti-unti ng pagluluto, sa paunti-unti hindi mo namamalayan malaki na pala at napalago mo na ang business mo (We started small, cooking and selling in small batches, until we were able to gradually grow our business without even realizing it,” Mijares said in Pilipino.
Lemorinas said free skills training courses offered by the government agencies have been very helpful especially to people who cannot afford to enroll in training centers charging tuition fees.
This course will give opportunities to people with no livelihood. It will also help encourage people to set up their own business,” Lemorinas said in Pilipino.
STEP is one of the community-based programs offered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) under the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) program.
Mijares and the other participants receive their baking kits and portable ovens as presents in their STEP graduation ceremony. (Photo courtesy of Ruby Mijares)
Lemorinas, Mijares, and Buenaventura enrolled in STEP facilitated by the Quezon City Skills and Livelihood Foundation Inc. (QCSLFI).
According to TESDA’s 2020 Study on the Employment of TVET graduates, 19.97 percent of participants were scholars of STEP in 2019.
Buenaventura inspects a motorcycle engine and organizes the electrical lines on the wiring board. (Photo courtesy of Paul Buenaventura / MANILA BULLETIN)
Vilma Lemorinas, a housewife, had always been interested in baking, coming from a fondness for cooking. She learned how to bake from tutorial videos on YouTube. Like her, Ruby Mijares, also a housewife, had a passion for cooking which led to baking, and has now inspired her to dream of having her own bakeshop someday.
The three fed their yearning to learn by joining the Special Training for Employment Program (STEP) facilitated by the Quezon City Skills and Livelihood Foundation Inc. (QCSLFI).
Buenaventura, 29, who is self-employed with three small businesses, enrolled in STEP’s Motorcycle and Small Engine System (MSES) training course.
Aside from gaining general knowledge, he wanted to learn how to repair motorcycles on the road, particularly in emergency situations.
He currently has a personal Facebook blog, “Motovation” – where he shares what he knows about motorcycles and motorcycling.
He emphasized that having formal training and being certified is important in his endeavor so that his followers will trust the information he shares, such as the proper maintenance of motorcycles.
By interacting with like-minded motorcycle enthusiasts in the program, he started thinking of opening an oil-supply business where he plans to sell local quality oils for daily use, racing, and touring.
As a high school graduate, Buenaventura stressed the importance of continuing education through free training programs.
“Nakakaboost ng self-esteem dahil kahit hindi ka nakapagtapos ng college, may certificate ka na maipapakita that you are a skilled person (The program will boost your self-esteem because even if you did not finish college, you have a certificate that shows you are a skilled person),” Buenaventura said.
Pastries for profit
Lemorinas, 46, and Mijares, 42, enrolled in STEP’s pastry making course. They had sessions where they baked in groups, as well as individual assessments where they were judged based on individual work.
Lemorinas said her favorite parts of the program were the individual assessment sessions that enabled her to showcase her skills and creativity, and the lessons on plating and the art of presenting food to be aesthetically pleasing.
Mijares said the program also introduced her to entrepreneurship because they were taught how to properly compute their expenses to prepare them to go into business.
Lemorinas prepares the pastries she baked, utilizing the skills they learned in their plating and preparation lessons. (Photo courtesy of Vilma Lemorinas)
Mijares said the free skills training program allowed her to hone her skills so that she could provide for the needs of her family during the pandemic.
“Magunti-unti ng pagluluto, sa paunti-unti hindi mo namamalayan malaki na pala at napalago mo na ang business mo (We started small, cooking and selling in small batches, until we were able to gradually grow our business without even realizing it,” Mijares said in Pilipino.
Lemorinas said free skills training courses offered by the government agencies have been very helpful especially to people who cannot afford to enroll in training centers charging tuition fees.
This course will give opportunities to people with no livelihood. It will also help encourage people to set up their own business,” Lemorinas said in Pilipino.
STEP is one of the community-based programs offered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) under the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) program.
Mijares and the other participants receive their baking kits and portable ovens as presents in their STEP graduation ceremony. (Photo courtesy of Ruby Mijares)
Lemorinas, Mijares, and Buenaventura enrolled in STEP facilitated by the Quezon City Skills and Livelihood Foundation Inc. (QCSLFI).
According to TESDA’s 2020 Study on the Employment of TVET graduates, 19.97 percent of participants were scholars of STEP in 2019.