SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday urged the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to step up efforts in boosting the job readiness of senior high school graduates.

Gatchalian made this call during the 30th Anniversary of TESDA as he received the Special Kabalikat Award from the agency, recognizing his advocacy and support for the development of Technical and Vocational Education and Training in the country.

It can be recalled that Gatchalian proposed funding and implementing TESDA’s Free National Certification Assessment Program under the 2024 national budget.

The 2024 national budget allocated P438 million for TESDA intended for free competency assessments and issuing national certifications to senior high school learners under the technical-vocational-livelihood track.

This allocation is expected to benefit 420,967 SHS graduates in the TVL track.

Gatchalian also proposed a P50 million allocation under the 2024 national budget to expand TESDA’s pool of assessors, ensuring that the agency has sufficient capacity to implement the free assessment and certification program.

By securing these funds, Gatchalian aims to spare SHS graduates under the TVL track from the cost of assessments, which is about P1,008.29 per student.

The prohibitive cost is one of the reasons why the certification rate is low among SHS graduates under the TVL track. In School Year 2019-2020, only 127,796 (26.3%) of SHS-TVL graduates took the assessment.

However, among those who took it, 124,970 or 98% passed and received their national certifications.

The overall certification rate decreased to 6.8% in SY 2020-2021.

By increasing the certification rate among SHS-TVL learners, Gatchalian hopes to improve their chances of securing quality jobs. Currently, 50% of SHS-TVL graduates who joined the labor force after graduation are employed in elementary occupations such as cleaners, vendors, and domestic helpers, according to an analysis of the Labor Force Survey data by the Senate Committee on Basic Education.

“Nagpapasalamat ako sa TESDA dahil katuwang natin sila upang gawing libre ang assessment at national certification para sa ating mga senior high school graduates sa TVL track. Patuloy nating isusulong ang mga reporma upang lalong mapatatag ang TVET at matiyak na handa ang ating mga graduates na magtagumpay sa mga pipiliin nilang larangan,” said Gatchalian.

Meanwhile, Gatchalian moved to institutionalize free assessment and certification for senior high school graduates through his Batang Magaling Act.