THE Technical Education and Skills Development Authority welcomed the renewal of the “cooperation program” between the Philippines and Germany for reskilling and upskilling of Filipino workers on digitalization and green economy.

TESDA Director General Suharto Mangudadatu lauded the efforts of the President on tech-voc training and emphasized that there is a need to intensify technical vocational education and training programs to prepare skilled graduates for employment.

“This partnership between the Philippines and Germany will further strengthen the TVET sector of the Philippines, particularly in the implementation of the Dual Training System, and research and development, among others,” Mangudadatu said.

The partnership was signed during the three-day working visit of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. in Berlin, Germany.

According to the Presidential Communications Office, following the signing for renewal of the “Cooperation Program” between the two educational and training entities, TESDA and Germany’s Federal Institute Vocational Education and Training will carry out several measures for capacity building.

Among the areas of collaboration between the Philippines and Germany are collaborative research and development in TVET, further promotion of the DTS, and innovations among others. The German model of the dual training system has also served as an exemplar of DTS in the Philippines.

Further, there will be exchanges on how digital learning systems can be embedded in the newly built Regional Innovation Centers in the Philippines and the German Center of Vocational Excellence.

There will also be joint work within the Bridging Innovation and Learning in TVET Initiative of the UNESCO-UNEVOC. The BILT initiative aims to implement long-term ‘bridging’ in vocational education and training through the exchange of experiences and peer learning with defined regional networks between Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Likewise, a Joint International Roadshow digital media in TVET will be done to systematize examples of good practices to structure international discourse and the use of digital applications.

“Quality tech-voc education will result in a quality skilled workforce, which will serve as great incentives to German and other foreign direct investors and domestic investments,” the TESDA chief said.

TESDA has a long-standing partnership with the government of Germany in strengthening the TVET sector of the Philippines, particularly the implementation of the DTS.

It can be recalled that in 2014, the Philippines and Germany signed a cooperation agreement focused on furthering tech-voc training through consultancy, technical assistance, exchange of information, experiences, best practices, joint research, study tours, and expert meetings.

Further, in early January 2024, Federal Foreign Minister of Germany Her Excellency Annalena Baerbock toured the TESDA Complex, specifically the Regional Training Center – National Capital Region and the TESDA Women’s Center, and had a closed-door, roundtable discussion with German stakeholders and Philippine government agencies.

“The Philippines and Germany have consistently collaborated and worked closely together. We remain eager to explore new collaborations targeted at tackling the growth of the skilled labor force in the Philippines,” Mangudadatu said.