TESDA holds 8th National TVET Forum

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Director General Augusto Syjuco yesterday announced the holding of the 8th National Policy Forum on Technical-Vocational Education and Training from December 11 to 12 at the TESDA Women’s Center in Taguig City. The theme of the forum is “Surging ahead Towards Quality and Relevance in TVET”.

TESDA will host the national TVET forum in partnership with the League of Offshoring and Outsourcing Partners @Philippines Inc., a new organization of ICT companies, technical and vocational institutions, head hunters, and industry partners which aims to foster solidarity, enhance skills empowerment, and provide employment opportunities to Filipinos that would lead to life transformation.

Secretary Syjuco said the forum comes amid the backdrop of the global financial crisis and aims to solicit inputs and recommendations on specific issues relative to TVET. The two-day forum will be a combination of paper presentations, round-table discussions, open forum, and plenary sessions.

“The TESDA has developed and implemented TVET policies and reforms, but there remain gaps in terms of coverage and implementation. With this forum, we hope to achieve common understanding and appreciation of these policies, in addition to coming out with new ones that will enhance quality and relevance of technical vocational education and training,” Syjuco said.

Syjuco noted that TESDA stakeholders and customers have observed the dynamism of TVT during the last four years, and said there is a need to follow through consensus building among the diverse TVET sector.

“This forum is a mechanism that will address that,” he said.

Some 450 participants from TESDA training centers and schools, private sector industry, and TESDA itself have been invited to the forum, which will focus on seven TVT thematic areas, namely, 1) trainers and assessors qualifications; 2) competency assessment and certification; 3) enterprise-based training; 4) education tourism; 5) national qualifications framework; 6) third-party accreditation; 7) and gaps between training output and industry needs.

To prepare for this important event, Syjuco said TESDA’s 17 regions have conducted pre-forum consultations to surface issues and recommendations.