THE Department of the Interior and Local Government inked a Memorandum of Agreement with Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to upscale the technical skills of department personnel especially on digital literacy and visual graphics design.

The MOA was signed by DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos and TESDA Director General Suharto Mangudadatu.

The program will be carried out through the DILG-BOOST or the Building Opportunities and Overall Advancement for Personnel Through Skills Training of TESDA Project.

The DILG-BOOST Project focuses on providing opportunities for livelihood training programs to empower DILG personnel to acquire practical skills for them to find supplemental source of income to enable holistic growth.

Interested DILG personnel and their qualified dependents will also benefit from the free technical education and skills development training.

Abalos said the department is grateful to TESDA for the opportunity to encourage holistic growth to its employees, consultants, and dependents of employees through the pursuit of continuous learning and training in technical education and skills development.

“Thank you for this BOOST Program. Nakita n’yo naman bibigyan ng skills training ang ating mga kawani dito. Sinisigurado ng DILG na anuman ang kasarian ay pantay-pantay ang karapatan, pantay-pantay ang trato at pantay-pantay ang oportunidad,” Abalos said.

The project is specifically designed to provide opportunities for retirees to prepare and explore options that will extend their retirement benefits and to support the implementation of the Magna Carta of Women or Republic Act No. 9710.

Under the MOA, the DILG is tasked to identify and endorse qualified participants and ensure that they shall finish the training program and undergo mandatory competency assessment.

For dependents, those who are unemployed, underemployed, out-of-school youth, and individuals from disadvantaged and marginalized groups shall be prioritized in the training program.

On the other hand, TESDA shall provide free skills training and competency assessment to qualified DILG-endorsed participants, and award certificates to those who pass their respective competency assessments.

“We are gathered today to mark a significant milestone in our collaborative journey to uplift and empower the Filipino people. We envision a future where every woman is capacitated to perform as well as their male counterparts and not be limited to gender stereotypes,” Mangudadatu said.