THE TECHNICAL Education and Skills Development Authority will have a new office at the Universidad de Manila Annex, boosting the technical and vocational education and training in the city.

TESDA Director General Isidro Lapeña and Manila Mayor Francisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso signed on Friday a memorandum of agreement for a tripartite partnership between TESDA, UDM and the city’s Public Employment Service Office.

Under the agreement, the City of Manila, through the UDM, will provide TESDA with three large rooms as offices.

TESDA and PESO will also help tech-voc graduates find employment. The agency will provide Community-Based Training for Enterprise Development for unskilled residents and provide trainer development programs for UDM’s TVET trainers.

Domagoso said that the MoA was in line with the city’s aim to address the socio-economic effects of the pandemic.

“TESDA is going to be one of the best assets of the City of Manila and thank you for that opportunity,” the mayor said.

Meanwhile, Lapeña said that transferring TESDA-Manila office to the UDM-Annex in Sta. Cruz district will make the agency more accessible.

“As TESDA-Manila moves to UDM Annex, we shall be able to reach out to aspiring college students and encourage them to avail higher technical and vocational education as an alternative to a college degree,” he added.

Lapeña announced that 1,789 trainees from the city have completed the Training for Work Scholarship Program.

“We will continue supporting the city’s efforts of empowering Manileños and rebuilding the city’s role as the center for urban living in the country,” he said.