The National Capital Region (NCR) leg of the 2019 World Café of Opportunities (WCO) job fest held in various regions across the Philippines, hired 118 technical vocational education training (TVET) graduates on the spot at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)-NCR reported that the hirings were done by 34 Public Employment Services Office (PESO)-accredited private companies which took part in the 2nd edition of the WCO.
The number of hires this year coming from 1,000 jobseekers, is an improvement from the 105 hired out of 2,000 attendees in the NCR in the inaugural WCO in 2018. The 2nd NCR WCO was held on August 27, 2019.
In line with the celebration of TESDA’s 25th founding anniversary, WCO hosted several job fests between August 20 and 29 in various regions across the country with a focus on offering a plethora of job openings as well as technical-vocational (tech-voc) courses that are in-demand for a specific region.
TESDA Secretary Isidro Lapeña enumerated the key benefits of the WCO during his August 29 interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
“WCO upholds TESDA’s commitment not only to provide quality training but also to help ensure that this will result in gainful employment or livelihood for our graduates,” he said. “Collaboration with industry partners has made this possible even for those without a college degree.”
“Whether TESDA graduates stay in the country or opt to work abroad, WCO can help kick-start their career path in any industry sector by opening doors to instant work opportunities from private organizations, government agencies, and partner companies,” he explained.
Aside from providing potential job matches, WCO also offered self-employment opportunities for those who want to take this route as well as pre-employment guidance services and skills upgrading interventions. During the Pasig-hosted event, tech-voc graduates were also exposed to useful information on financial assistance for business start-ups as well as about entrepreneurship training.
According to Lapeña, TESDA’s WCO isn’t just for tech-voc job-seekers but also for anyone interested in taking tech-voc courses. “Our industry partners and tech-voc providers are keen into accepting more students within their course offerings especially now that scholarship programs offered by the agency can be readily availed by those who have a need for it,” he added.
The Philippines’ vocational-technology education has been recognized for excellence and was recently ranked 4th Best in the Asia Pacific.
Vocational technology students were also awarded medallions of excellence at the 2019 World Skills Kazan in Russia.
SEND congratulations in the comments below to the successful jobseekers from the technology-vocational graduates of the Philippines!
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