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- EDD K. USMAN | Twitter: @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 | Facebook: SDN — SciTech andNews
TAGUIG CITY, August 6, 2024 (SDN) — “TESDA is no longer into just making ‘tinapay’ or ‘sabon’!”
And so, declares Secretary Suharto “Datu Teng” T. Mangudadatu, Ph.D., the Director General (DG) of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
“We are now into the jobs for the future, or what we call the 4th Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0,” he emphasizes.
He made the statements on August 5 in what was his final interview as head of the manpower agency with four select members of the news media. The interview was done at the sidelines of the kickoff ceremony for the 2024 Philippine National Skills Competition (PNSC) at TESDA Women’s Center (TWC), Bicutan, this city.
To be held on August 21-25 at the World Trade Center (WTC), Gil Puyat Avenue (corner Macapagal Avenue), Pasay City, Metro Manila, Mangudadatu and other TESDA officials invited the public to come and see intense mind-wracking competitions in various skill disciplines. Entrance is free.
Mangudadatu, former governor of Christian-dominated Sultan Kudarat province, in Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN), replaced TESDA Secretary Danilo Cruz after the President appointed him DG on 6 June 2023.
Soon after assuming the leadership on 13 June, he immediately introduced his 10-Point Agenda for TESDA, crafted to bring the agency closer, especially to poor Filipinos through the barangays, more so in the far-flung communities, ride the technology bandwagon, get the agency to bite into the lucrative global Halal industry that covers food, fashion/cosmetics, hospitality/hotels, travel/tourism, pharmaceutical, logistics, finance products and services, and others.
In his 10-Point Agenda, one of them is on Halal TVET (technical vocational education and training) to have graduates skilled on Halal management/processes.
Statista.com says the over 1.6 billion Muslims across the world spent US$2 trillion in 2021 on Halal products and services and the figure is projected to grow to $2.8 trillion by 2025. For Muslim consumers the biggest market is food and beverage.
Php30K, Php20K, and Php15K await PNSC winners
“Unfortunately, because of my interest in other fields, I will have to leave (the programs behind). Hopefully, the next secretary will focus on that because we did it already, K-to-12 is already there,” says the Maguindanaon leader, telling the reporters that he already tendered his courtesy resignation to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. He said he was hoping his resignation would be accepted soon.
On the skills competition, the TESDA chief cited the significance of the month of August.
“We call it institutional month because today (this month) is also our 30th Anniversary. So, during the 30th Anniversary of TESDA we incorporate all the institutional programs that we have. One of that is the main event, the Philippine National Skills Competition,” he points out.
He said second is the celebration of the 30th Anniversary, then TESDA will also have its Institutional Award, Kabalikat Award, and TESDA Idol Award. “All these awards are part of our mandate, they are really institutionalized, that’s every year. Our awardees are among the best of the best.”
Mangudadatu said that’s why for August they synchronized all the programs “so we can highlight all the programs TESDA has.”
With the PNSC, he said they want to “show to senior high school students and the Filipinos that TESDA is different from before.”
“We have emerging programs, we have 18,000 programs, latest of which is on electric vehicles, cybersecurity, Java (applications), AI (artificial intelligence). They are all there. So, TESDA’s 30th Anniversary celebration is truly different,” Mangudadatu assures.
Honor and prestige, he said, await the winners of the PNSC, which also primes them up for the forthcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Skills Competition. The three winners in the various skills competition of the PNSC, he pointed out, will receive Php30,000 (champion), Php20,000 (second place), and Php15,000 (third place).
To be showcased at the competition are the skills of Filipinos, not only skills development but also covers technical-vocational (tech-voc), technologies like mechatronic, semiconductors and lately, including Aviation support, and Subway program.
Mangudadatu leaves behind his 10-Point Agenda
To get senior high school students and others to come and watch the battle of skills, Mangudadatu said TESDA entered into an agreement with the Department of Education (DepEd) for students’ field trips to introduce them to tech-voc, especially that tech-voc is already in K-to-12 Curriculum.
“Unfortunately, because of my interest in other fields, I shall be leaving the programs. Hopefully, the next secretary will focus on that because we did it already, K-to-12 is already there,” says the Maguindanaon leader. He told the reporters that he already tendered his courtesy resignation to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. He said he was hoping his resignation would be accepted soon.
In mentioning “other fields”, he said he plans to run in the scheduled May 2025 inaugural parliamentary polls in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The regional political contest is for the regular 80 Members of the Parliament (MPs). From among the winning MPs, they will elect the Bangsamoro Chief Minister.
He said TESDA is no longer known only as “gumagawa” ng (making) tinapay and sabon. (Translation: TESDA is no longer known only as making bread and soap.)
Mangudadatu expressed the desire that other government agencies like the Departments of Agriculture (farmers’ training), Health (training for ambulance, and emergency services) will register their tech-voc training programs with the agency for approval. With the approval, their graduates will be assessed for their competence by TESDA experts and receive National Competency (NC) II Certificates they can use to look for jobs.
Without TESDA’s approval of the departments’ trainings, they give their graduates only Compliance Certificates, which is not the same with NC II. “One of our powers is to assess national competency, so that is what we are working out today,” he points out.
Mangudadatu’s 10-Point Agenda at TESDA:
- TESDA sa Barangay,
- Review of TESDA Training Regulations,
- Prioritize the Marginalized Sectors by Providing Training Programs to Address Skills Mismatch and Meet the Demands of the Industry,
- Continuous Monitoring of Training Program Implementation of Schools to Ensure Compliance with TESDA’s Policies and Guidelines,
- Enhanced Online Application,
- Promotion of Rural Enterprises and Area Development through TVET Programs,
- Youthpreneurship,
- TESDA Industry Exchange Program,
- Halal TVET,
- Strengthening and Regeneration of the Internal Structure of the Agency.
All 17 regions of the country have representatives from the over 200 participants in the competition.
TVET graduates will battle for supremacy in Cybersecurity, Information Network Cabling, IT Network Systems Administration, IT Software Solutions for Business, Web Technologies, CNC Maintenance, Electronics, Carpentry, Mechatronics, Welding, Cabinet Making, and Cooking.
They also have to show their skills in Hotel Reception, Plumbing and Heating, Hairdressing, Wall and Floor Tiling, Mechanical Engineering CAD, Restaurant Service, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Beauty Therapy, Bakery, Electrical Installations, Fashion Technology, Graphic Design Technology, and Automobile Technology.
Schedule for the 30th Anniversary Celebration:
• TESDA 30th Anniversary Celebration Opening Ceremony – August 19 | 9:00 AM;
• 2024 Philippine National Skills Competition (PNSC) Opening Ceremony – August 21 | 6:00 PM;
• Kabalikat Awards and Search for Idols ng TESDA – August 22 | 2:00 PM; and
• 2024 Philippine National Skills Competition (PNSC) Closing Ceremony – August 25 | 6:00 PM
*WHERE* : World Trade Center, Pasay City
As they say, the most skilled will be the one remaining standing. (/)
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Update: August 17, 4:31 p.m.
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said that President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. appointed Negros Occidental Rep. Jose Francisco B. Benitez as TESDA director general on Friday, August 16, replacing Secretary Suharto T. Mangudadatu.