Blue collar workers needed

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor PATRICK PANGILINAN Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

With the recent declaration of the Philippines as an emerging “tiger economy,” is the light finally seeping in from the end of the tunnel? Does this augur well for all sectors in society, most especially in livelihood and employment?

This being an election year, attention is focused on whether aspiring and traditional politicians alike will be able to make good their promises of a good life and the total development of people's well-being. But should we depend solely on government to make our lives better?

A beacon of hope comes from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the leading partner in the development of the nation's work force to put them at par with workers of other countries. What can even make us more competitive is the premium we place on values and ethics in the work place.

The TESDA, according to its director-general, Joel Villanueva, plans to expand its technical vocational education program to cover the entire country to address the offering of so-called over-subscribed courses, whose graduates often end up unemployed or underemployed.

Through the tech-voc courses of TESDA, a jobs bridging will happen to graduates who may yet be unable to land a job. Thus, to minimize wastage in time and opportunity, graduates of tech-voc courses that are offered generally for two years, would be able to find jobs because their courses are in demand. These may be blue-collar jobs, but these are the ones more employers look for, here or abroad.

To date, out of 65,000 graduates this year who took tech-voc courses, 70.7 percent are gainfully employed. Generally, Villanueva said, more than 60 percent of TESDA graduates land jobs. Moreover, TESDA courses are now ISO-certified, except for accountancy.

This may yet be the answer to the country's unemployment problem. It may yet be the passport for employment.*