An average of eight out of 10 technical vocational education and training (TVET) graduates got employed, a study conducted by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) revealed.
In a statement released on Friday, Jan. 6, TESDA said that based on the preliminary results of the 2022 Study on Employment of TVET graduates (SETG), the TVET sector has posted an employment rate of 84.72%. The SETG is conducted annually to measure the relevance and effectiveness of tech-voc programs.
Likewise, TESDA posted a certification rate of 93 percent wherein 751,500 out of 808,227 assessed successfully earned their National Certificates in their respective qualifications.
Moreover, the TESDA also said that it has further expanded the public’s access to TVET and reports that as of November, some 1,075,600 enrolled in various tech-voc courses of which 1,024,266 have already graduated.
According to Director General Danilo P. Cruz, these graduates are job-ready and equipped with the right skills and knowledge that help them get jobs or engage in livelihood ventures almost immediately after graduation.
As a quality-assured organization, TESDA has also maintained its ISO 9001:2015 on its core processes: standards development, program registration, and assessment and certification.
Meanwhile, in terms of financial utilization, TESDA was able to reach a 90 percent utilization rate as of December 15.
Cruz, who assumed TESDA’s leadership last July 20, attributed this high TVET output and utilization rate to the decentralization of the allocation of scholarship funds to the regional, provincial, and district levels giving TESDA executives a wider discretion to decide.
According to him, TESDA is committed to prioritizing TVET for the benefit of the agriculture sector wherein the Agency has allocated 30 percent of its total scholarship budget to the agriculture, forestry, and fishery sector “TESDA regards the agriculture sector as among the most important in the country. We must ensure that a steady supply of well-trained workers, equipped with the most up-to-date knowledge is available. This will also help the country achieve food security,” Cruz said.
On the other hand, it can be recalled that on Sept. 16, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. signed Executive Order No. 5 which formalizes the transfer of TESDA as an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The transfer to DOLE was seen by TESDA as a great opportunity to synergize the strengths of both agencies which will eventually address the perennial problem of skills-job mismatch.