KIDAPAWAN CITY,  At least 2,459 scholars under the Pangulong Gloria Scholarship (PGS) program from North Cotabato had availed skills training since January this year from different accredited technical and vocational schools in the province.

Engr. Florante Herrera, provincial administrator of the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in North Cotabato, said the skills training of PGS scholars was aimed at improving the country’s economic sustainability plan through highly-skilled manpower.

“This will respond to the demands and needs of both the local and global labor markets,” said Herrera.

The Arroyo government has allotted P26 million for the PGS program, he said.

The scholars were trained in various qualifications or courses that have high demands, particularly in the sectors of construction, tourism, information and communications technology, automotive and land transport and metals and engineering, under technical or vocational providers who have registered courses under the TESDA.

With the K to 12 program soon in place, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is gearing up a massive review and updating of its courses to be offered to the students to boost their chances of employment after graduation.
 
TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva said that with the implementation of the K to 12 program, the country will have at least 1.2 million graduates every year.
 
Speaking at the 4th National COCOPEA Congress at the University of Sto. Tomas, Villanueva made a push anew for the new education curriculum, stressing the vital role of K to 12 in raising the quality of education to make the country catch up with the rest of the world.
 
“The introduction of the K to 12 is a major educational reform that impacts not only on basic education but also on technical education and skills development (TESD) and higher education,” he said.
 
“We recognize that TESDA has an important role to play in the K to 12 reform initiative and under the leadership of Department of Education (DepEd), we affirm our commitment to make it work and succeed,” Villanueva added.

The Technical Educationand Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has ratcheted up its goals of beingthe country's prime provider of quality technical-vocational education, vowingto produce 5.3 million certified graduates by the end of the Aquinoadministration in 2016.

Gathering top-level officials in a GeneralDirectorate Conference, TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva gave themarching orders to beef up enrolment and employment of graduates, thresh outoperational issues and improve the quality of courses to meet their targets.

"By the end of President Aquino's term in2016, we would like to be remembered as having contributed 5.3 millionTESDA-certified workers or TESDA Specialistas  as we proudly call them, whowill find work or manage their own small businesses and earn incomes that theyplough back to the country through expenditures and savings," Villanuevasaid in a speech.