THE TECHNICAL Education and Skills Development Authority thanked Ilocos Norte 1st District Representative Sandro Marcos for making House Bill 20 or the Apprenticeship Bill as one of his primary agenda in the 19th Congress.

“TESDA is one with him in his bid to establish a more robust employment framework that will help equip Filipinos, especially the youth, with the right knowledge and skills for their prospective profession,” TESDA said in a statement.

The agency added that the apprenticeship program is an excellent measure to foster collaboration between the education and training sector and the industry sector.

“It is of great value to the agency’s continuing drive to strengthen further the public-private partnerships and encourage social dialogues on skills-job mismatch and standardization of qualifications,” the agency said.

The apprenticeship program is among TESDA’s enterprise-based training programs or “EBT to the Max,” the agency’s promotion and advocacy plan to entice wider participation of the industry in Technical-Vocational Education and Training.

“Apprenticeship is implemented within companies with the objective of enabling learners to gain the necessary skills applicable to real working conditions, leading to their work readiness and higher employability. If signed into law, the Apprenticeship Bill shall help increase the number of enrollees and graduates for enterprise-based training programs,” TESDA added.