MANILA — The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has tapped some financial institutions to help the agency assist technical and vocational education training (TVET) graduates who would like to put up a business.
“We have invited the DBP (Development Bank of the Philippines) and LBP (Land Bank of the Philippines) to partner with us. They would lend our TVET graduates with capital based on their guidelines,” TESDA Learning Development Division chief Noel Cuevas told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Sunday.
By partnering with TESDA, Cuevas said the LBP and DBP may provide startup capital for TVET graduates with inclination to become entrepreneurs.
Cuevas added that other national government agencies also have programs that aim to lend capital for TVET graduates.
On Tuesday, August 7, TESDA, LBP and DBP are set to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). The signing will coincide with the launch of TESDA’s first World Cafe of Opportunities (WCO) — a one-stop shop for job seekers set nationwide on August 25-26.
Other agencies who will partner with TESDA for the World Cafe of Opportunities are the Departments of Agriculture, Interior and Local Government, Labor and Employment, Public Works and Highways and Trade and Industry. Also included are Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Cooperative Development Authority, Department of Tourism, and the Department of Science and Technology.
Private associations will also sign the MOA with TESDA.
Cuevas earlier said WCO also aims to operationalize TESDA’s JoLiNS (Job Linkaging and Networking Services) program, which helps TVET graduates to find jobs and other scholarships.
The event will connect government and private agencies, as well as financial institutions, to TVET graduates and provide them with employment and entrepreneurial options. (Ma. Cristina Arayata/PNA)
