MANILA, Philippines--Graduates of technical vocational courses have higher chances of getting employed and with a shorter job search period, Technical Education Skills Development Authority (Tesda) Director General Pastor Z. Guiao said.

He bared the results of an impact evaluation study which shows that Tesda graduates easily find jobs and in a shorter time.

“The skills that graduates of tech-voc courses learned are very much in demand and are attuned to the needs of companies. The courses they have chosen were based on their occupational interest and aptitude. That is why they do not have difficulty looking for jobs,” Guiao said.

Tesda consults with industry representatives in identifying in-demand occupations and sits down with them in the design of the curriculum. According to Guiao, industry practitioners have developed 218 training standards promulgated by Tesda for all schools offering tech-voc programs to follow.

Tesda also requires students to undergo career assessment prior to their enrolment to help ensure that the course they will enrol in fits their aptitude and occupational interest.

The Tesda study show that of the more than 200,000 graduates who responded in the survey used, 55 percent were already employed. More than one-third (36 percent) got their jobs in less than a month and one-fourth (26 percent) were employed within 1 to 3 months after completing their courses. The companies are Tesda’s partners for their on-the-job training and these companies absorb them right after their training. For the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, the companies themselves organize the training and employ their graduates.

 

The biggest number of graduates was employed in the following business sectors: footwear and leather goods; land transportation; processed food and beverages; business process outsourcing; heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning; metals and engineering; construction; and furniture and fixtures.

The study further noted that majority of these graduates receive a monthly income of P5,000 to P20,000. On the average, their monthly earning is placed at P8,885.74 which is higher than the average basic pay of wage and salary workers of P288.95 per day or P6,136.00 per month (at 22 working days) based on the October 2008 Labor Force Survey of the National Statistics Office.