TESDA Provincial Director Eulalio Lumactod bared last week that by this month (November), under the PGMA’s Training for Work Program, 25 college graduates (of at least 4-year course) will start their Care Giver course at the Philippine Paramedical and Technical School at Enerio Compound, this city.

These 25 who are mostly women are unemployed and desire to work abroad.  Lumactod stressed that TESDA specifically require the college graduates as it is the number 1 qualification of employers in Japan, Canada and United States.

This is the realization of what President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had promised to generate 10 million jobs  for Filipinos by 2010, Lumactod pointed out.

Training for Work Program

The provincial director emphasized that under PGMA’s Training for Work Program, TESDA pays the tuition fees upon assurance that scholars finish the course and work afterwards.  Otherwise, they will refund the whole cost of the course. For the 6-month Care Giver course, TESDA allocates P15,000 per scholar.

On the other hand, TESDA has now a hand in training domestic workers now called as Household Service Workers. Nowadays, no more Filipino women to be deployed as household service workers abroad without passing the TESDA assessment, Lumactod said

The Household Service Workers training is now being offered at the Eastern Mindanao College of Technology (Emcotech) at CMS Enerio Street, this city.  During the training, scholars are taught different languages like: Niponggo, Arabic and others and significantly, they are also taught Martial Arts necessary for self-defense as there are cases of abusive employers.

For men undergraduates and high school graduates, there is also a continuous training program on Heavy Equipment Operators and Welding Metal Arts at TESDA itself.  Alabama, USA, has a continuing hiring on heavy equipment operators for Filipinos, the source said.

So far several TESDA certified graduates are now employed in the Middle East earning more as Heavy Equipment Operators and Welders, he said.