SENATE Majority Leader Joel Villanueva stressed the need to keep the technical and vocational education and training sector relevant and competitive amid increasing job market demands.

Villanueva said the changes brought about by the so-called “Fourth Industrial Revolution” should prompt the government to sharpen technical and skills education programs to ensure that Filipinos can catch up with emerging trends and labor requirements.

The senator also underscored the need to harmonize TVET programs with basic and higher education policies as he presented the 2nd Congressional Commission on Education’s priorities, which include worker upskilling, encouraging industry participation and lifelong learning initiatives.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, co-chairperson of EDCOM 2, lamented that the country’s TVET system only certifies very simple skills and therefore fails to create value.

“From what I’m getting…the government is not responding… it takes time for the government to respond to what the industry needs,” Gatchalian said.