THE TECHNICAL  Education and Skills Development Authority extended its partnership with YouthWorks PH to train unemployed and out-of-school youth affected by the Covid19 pandemic.

YouthWorks PH is the youth employability program of the United States Agency on International Development and Philippine Business Education..

TESDA and PBEd signed a memorandum of understanding — an extension of an earlier agreement in 2018 — to facilitate more quality technical-vocational education to at least 4,100 YouthWorks PH trainees across the country until 2023.

Under the extended MOU, TESDA and PBEd will collaborate on the development of competency standards, curriculum, assessment tool and learning materials for the TESDA Online Program.

The program will include training for tech-voc trainers, research initiatives, assistance in the availment of scholarships, and support for assessment and certification for qualified beneficiaries, among others.

The agreement is in line with TESDA’s and YouthWorks PH’s objective of providing flexible learning opportunities to the youth.

“By renewing our partnership with YouthWorks PH, TESDA commits to provide crucial support to our unemployed and out-of-school youth through tech-voc education. We are glad to collaborate with other workforce development stakeholders in the country as these important alliances further elevate and strengthen the status of tech-voc education in the Philippines,” TESDA Director General Isidro Lapeña said.

“TESDA and YouthWorks PH will work hand-in-hand in ensuring that the program’s trainees will receive quality tech-voc education that will improve their employability and guarantee success in their chosen careers,” he added.

Meanwhile, PBEd Executive Director and YouthWorks PH Chief of Party Lovelaine Basillote thanked TESDA for renewing its partnership with YouthWorks PH and added that the agreement comes at an opportune time for young Filipinos looking for skills and employment opportunities amid the pandemic.

“This partnership is a joint commitment between TESDA and YouthWorks PH to ensure that our learners, especially those in need of crucial support at this trying time, are not left behind. As challenging as our current situation may be, we must continue to forge crucial partnerships with the government, industry and academia, and invest in young Pinoys who have so much promise and potential,” Basillote said.