TECHNICAL Education and Skills Development Authority Director General Isidro Lapeña attributed the agency’s consistent high trust and approval ratings to the uninterrupted services it has rendered throughout the year.

Such service reflects the agency’s guiding principle, “TESDA Abot Lahat” which means “TESDA reaches everyone.”

The 2021 PAHAYAG Fourth Quarter Survey of PUBLiCUS Asia Inc. listed TESDA as the second most trusted and approved government agency, after the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The TESDA was the most trusted and approved government agency in the first quarter survey; second in the second quarter; and second again in the third quarter.

The agency built more training centers to bring its services to more Filipinos especially those living in far-flung areas.

This year, TESDA added two more provincial training centers — in Island Garden City of Samal and Kidapawan in Cotabato Province.

Based on TESDA’s database, the number of TVET providers has reached 4,570 as of November this year which is composed of TESDA Technology Institutions and partner tech-voc institutions.

As of December 22, these TVET providers have served 1,126,915 enrollees and recorded 1,059,291 graduates in various TESDA scholarship programs. A total of 619,769 of them were assessed and 570,129 have received their National Certificates.

To encourage more learners, the TESDA Online Program was further improved with 115 online courses. From January to December 20, 1,090,530 have enrolled in these online courses. Of this number, 72,476 are overseas Filipino workers and their dependents. Since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, the TOP has reached a total of 2,140,105 accumulated registered users.

After President Rodrigo Duterte gave TESDA the directive to help OFWs recover from the Covid19 pandemic, the agency was able to serve 26,989 enrollees through its “TESDA Abot Lahat ang OFWs” program. A total of 25,579 have graduated; 10,066 were assessed; and 9,508 were certified from January to December 15 this year.

More assessment centers were also established this year for the benefit of outbound OFWs. As of November, the number of Domestic Works NC II Accredited Assessment Centers in 16 regions increased to 112.

To make the training programs more relevant and attuned to the needs of the industry, TESDA also pursued partnerships with the private sector.

Its tie-up with Nestle Philippines gave the coffee farmers in Bukidnon and Sultan Kudarat the opportunity to improve their skills in order to produce world-class coffee yields.

Meanwhile, the TESDA-Daikin Philippines partnership which aims to upgrade the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) sector initially established the TESDA-Daikin HVAC Center in Taguig City.

Meanwhile, as the lead-agency of the Poverty Reduction, Livelihood, and Employment Cluster of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, TESDA reached 802 out of the 822 identified priority barangays in the country.

The agency and other PRLEC members held trainings and offered livelihood programs in these villages.

Lapeña cited the Alabel Food Hub which was established for the Indigenous People of Barangay Alegria in Alabel, Sarangani Province.

“They now earn a steady income for selling their farm products. Thanks to the Project Indigenous Peoples Empowered as Agripreneurs Toward a Collective End and the local government of Alabel. We did not only earn their trust, but we have also empowered them to become a productive community,” he said.

Project IPEACE was spearheaded by the Joint Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in SOCCSKSARGEN Region which is also headed by Lapeña.

Another highlight of TESDA’s accomplishments this year is the successful conduct of the Philippine National Skills Competition 2021 last December 13-16.

Over 400 delegates from 17 regions gathered to showcase their talent in 37 different skill areas and qualify for the upcoming World Skills Competition 2022 to be held in Shanghai, China. TESDA-Region III was declared the overall winner.

As the year ends, TESDA regional offices continue their “TESDAmayan” initiatives and relief efforts for those affected by Typhoon Odette.

“We Filipinos are known to be resilient in whatever crisis we face. We, in TESDA, are here to add empowerment to this resilience and help bring our countrymen back on their feet again. I would like to thank the men and women of TESDA for their selfless service to our kababayans. Let us continue this compassionate service that we practice in more days, weeks, and months of the Year 2022,” Lapeña said.