The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is offering free online courses for students and displaced workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The TESDA-Provincial Director, Vilma C. Cabrera, said that the free online programme is an educational platform which students and displaced workers may enrol in while still on quarantine.
According to a press release, there are 68 online programmes under various categories such as agriculture, automotive, electrical and electronics, massage therapy, entrepreneurship, information and communication technology, tourism, bread and pastry production, preparation and cooking of meals, and housekeeping, among others.
Cabrera said that modules will be provided in the online training programme, which started at the beginning of the month.
The online training programme can be accessed on the agency website.
Moreover, TESDA also offers opportunities for returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) but they need to register online.
The TESDA Secretary, Isidro Lapena, introduced the online registration through a virtual consultation with the OFWs around the world. This is to determine the preferred skills of the returning OFWs in order to match their employment or self-employment needs.
Online registration can be accessed through the TESDA application, which can be downloaded on both Google Play Store and App Store for free.
OFWs need to fill-up an online form indicating their personal and professional information, location on their return to the country, and the skills training they need.
Earlier in May, the TESDA offices nationwide started accepting applications for the newly launched Integrated Organic Farming System Programme (IOFSP).
In a media statement, the organisation said that as the need for food security arises amid the pandemic, TESDA Technology Institutions (TTIs), community farms, and farm schools will be utilised as organic farming training grounds in the country.
Family farms and other farm schools will be registered with at least four integrated farm subsystem programmes, while TTIs will serve as the demonstration farm system of IOFSP.
In order to be qualified, TTIs should have at least 500 square meters of a lot; IOFS Curriculum; Site layout based on actual inspection of training facilities, tools, equipment, supplies, and materials.
Farm schools with TESDA registered agri-fishery programmes should submit to the nearest TESDA office the said requirements with a letter of intent, while other interested farm schools should also submit corporate documents.
IOFSP targets farmer-beginners, farmers, out-of-school-youth, OFWs, indigenous people, rebel returnees, and other individuals who are interested to learn agri-fishery. Qualified trainees shall be trained for free, the release noted.
The Secretary has been continuously emphasising the importance of food production and food sustainability during this time of crisis.
The Authority has partnered with the Department of Agriculture to pursue intensified skills training to empower farmers and the marginalised sector.
The release said that IOFSP also aims to integrate production systems such as dairy, poultry, livestock, fishery, horticulture, apiculture, and sericulture, among others. Also, with agriculture crop production as its base, increase farm resources-use efficiency, and maintain environmental quality and ecological stability.
Under the “OPLAN TESDA Abot Lahat: TVET Towards a New Normal”, agriculture remains a priority sector of TESDA. It will promote value-chain development to increase agriculture and rural enterprise productivity, increase farm income, and improve the quality of life of farmers.