SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian batted for more technical and vocational education and training or TVET programs that provide higher level certifications.

Based on data from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority as of May 2023 and analysis from the senator’s office, National Certificate Level I and NC Level II make up 86.3 percent of TESDA-accredited TVET programs while only 0.2 percent provide NC IV certificates. The data also showed that only 3.7 percent of the agency offerings are TVET diploma programs.

“Most of our TVET trainees are trained with entry-level skills through NC I and NC II. Very few go through NC III, NC IV, and the higher levels which focus on more complex skills that companies are looking for,” Gatchalian said.

Workers with NC Level IV certificates can perform a wide range of complex and non-routine applications because their work also involves leading, guiding, and organizing others.

Diploma programs or NC V also offer tech-voc trainees, graduates, and middle-level workers better chances to qualify for jobs with bigger responsibilities, such as supervisors.

Gatchalian also sought an increase in enterprise-based TVET programs. Citing the six-year average of enrollment in TVET programs from 2014 to 2020, the senator said only 4 percent were enrolled in enterprise-based programs, 50 percent were enrolled in community-based programs, and 46 percent in institution-based programs.

“What we need to increase is the enterprise-based training because it gives TVET students the opportunity to work in the private sector,” he said.

In a March 2021 study on TVET in the Philippines, the Asian Development Bank identified work-based learning as a globally recognized best practice to provide students and apprentices with technical knowledge and practical skills.