Pinoy TVET

One of the most common strategies implemented by legislators in their respective constituency areas to address unemployment and underemployment is the allocation of certain amounts from their pork barrel funds (officially called Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF) for TVET scholarships. This is one of the most common constituency programs of legislators for several reasons. First, scholarships are perceived by the public as "clean" programs, meaning, they are not usually associated with cases of graft and corruption; second, it has long-term and multiplier effect; and third, it has direct and personal impact on the constituents or their loved ones.  However, if these scholarship funds are not directed towards employment, their implementation can have the opposite effect, and can damage the reputation of the concerned elected official or his party more than build it. "Clean" Program One of the difficulties for congressmen and senators in implementing

As countries that used to rely on expatriates for their technical manpower needs begin to nationalize their labor force, some of them are strengthening their partnerships with the Philippines along training of their trainers.  Recently, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) reported that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has trained 338 of its TVET trainers through its partnership with the government.  This year, according to the report, 10 more Saudi nationals will be trained (via the MFI Foundation, Inc., formerly the Meralco Foundation) to conduct training in qualifications such as automotive servicing, electronic ignition system, electronic fuel injection, troubleshooting automotive engine systems and automatic transmission systems.  Previously, trainers in qualifications such as food processing, multi-media, computer networks, video production, photography, refrigeration and air-conditioning repair were trained under the program. ("Saudi Tech-Voc Experts

TESDA Director General Sec. Joel Villanueva recently announced during a forum with technical-vocational institutions that his agency is now working with the Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education to "harmonize" basic education and tertiary courses with technical-vocational education and training (TVET). ( Philippine Information Agency , September 20, 2011) The primary reason for this seems to be to enable graduates or even dropouts of basic education (mainly, high school) and bachelor courses to get employable skills (provided by TVET) even if they move out of the system before they finish schooling.  In this arrangement, TVET is inserted in basic and higher education as a sort of parachute that the student can open in case he needs to jettison out his course for one reason or another. Philippine education cohort estimates indicate that for every 100 pupils who enroll in elementary, only 66 graduate and of this 66, only 58 are able to enroll in high sch