By Ma. Cristina Arayata/PNA
MANILA — Most of the 2018 graduates who are beneficiaries of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)-Aboitiz scholarship program were immediately employed, the firm said on Wednesday.
In 2016, Aboitiz signed partnership with TESDA, and provided PHP1 million grant for the trainees of TESDA Women’s Center. This grant was used for the trainees’ assessment fees, insurance, medical examination, protective equipment, supplies, among others.
According to Aboitiz, 93 of the 100 scholars last year got their NC II certification. Of the 93 scholars, 74 percent were immediately employed, it added.
In a previous interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA), Luz Victoria Amponin, executive director of TESDA’s Partnerships and Linkages Office, noted that TESDA’s partnership with industries facilitate employment for the graduates.
TESDA has been partnering with multinational firms, most of them have CSR components related to education, she said.
Aboitiz, for instance, has a technical-vocational program that aims to provide an alternative solution for high school students who do not have the means to pursue college.
Among the group’s businesses, the Pilmico Foods Corp., and the Aboitiz Foundation, also partnered with TESDA for the establishment of a business innovation center in TESDA Women’s Center.
Pilmico donated the latest baking equipment in this facility that will be used for the skills training and entrepreneurial activities of Bread and Pastry Production NC II and Barista NC II students and graduates.
The facility can accommodate about 25 trainees per batch, and TESDA targets to have 100 to 150 graduates per year.
