TESDA sets P160M tech-voc fund for 3 provinces

Three provinces in Central Luzon (Region 3) will get a total of P159.76 million from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to tap the skills of the youth and make them job-ready.
In all, the fund will benefit 21,434 youth who can get into technical vocational education  (tech-voc) for free.
“Millions of young Filipinos lack access to education, blocked from their dreams by a few thousand pesos.  The government is doing something for them,” TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva said.
Villanueva said the funds would be made available to Bulacan, P58.24 million for 7,952 scholars; Nueva Ecija, P69.65 million for 9,528 scholars; and Tarlac, P31.86 million for 3,954 scholars.
All scholarships will be implemented through the following TESDA programs: Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP), Private Education Student Financial Assistance (PESFA); Special Training for Employment Program (STEP); and Bottom-Up Budgeting (BUB).
“Why invest in education, why skills development?  Because one can’t take education away.  It can’t be eaten up by inflation or washed away during floods.  One brings the skills and knowledge wherever he or she goes in life,” Villanueva said.
“Why for this particular event we are focusing on Region 3?  Because it is one of the leading growth regions in the country, and this only means investments, jobs, and progress for our people,” he said.
”We want the youth of this region to take the lead in pushing the growth of their respective provinces.  Through their skills, they can get employed, improve the living condition of their families and their communities,” Villanueva added.
On March 26, Villanueva graced separate events in Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac to attend the mass graduation of TESDA scholars and inaugurate a school building.
In Bulacan, he attended the graduation of 2,000 youth who have completed their respective courses. Those who finished their programs also received starter toolkits to help them get employed in a shorter period of time.
Villanueva was also present at the Bulacan-Binyagang Bayan organized by the local government unit.
Motoring to Nueva Ecija, he witnessed the graduation of another batch of 2,000 youth.
The TESDA chief also inaugurated the new school building of the ASKI Skills and Learning Institute in Talavera town.
The training institute is a partner of TESDA in the delivery of various training programs and the implementation of the TESDA-Coca-Cola Sari-Sari Store Training and Access to Resources (STAR) program.  It is also an accredited assessment center.
In Tarlac, there were a total of 1,750 graduates who were feted in a ceremony jointly organized by TESDA and the local government unit.