KALIBO, Aklan – House Bill No. 8449, seeking to establish a Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Training and Assessment Center in Kalibo, Aklan, was approved by the House of Representatives.
With 266 affirmative votes and no negative votes, congressmen passed the bill on its third and final reading on Aug. 9.
The Kalibo, Aklan TESDA Piña Handloom Weaving, Training, and Assessment Center will primarily provide technical, vocational education and training (TVET) programs to students and local residents from low-income families and out-of-school youths, including persons with disabilities and indigenous peoples.
Under the measure, the center targets helping beneficiaries become productive, self-reliant, and globally competitive labor assets in the art, craft, and trade of handloom weaving, particularly of piña fiber.
The center shall provide effective employment interventions through training programs on relevant skills in trade competencies, craftsmanship, and entrepreneurship activities to help hasten the development of the host area and its adjacent localities into human resource and productivity hubs.
Moreover, the center will assess the acquired competencies in TVET programs for handloom weaving in Kalibo and the adjacent localities in the province of Aklan.
It shall also provide teachers’ training and curriculum design assistance to the secondary schools offering the technical-vocational livelihood track under the K to 12 Program in coordination with the Department of Education, the Philippine Textile Research Institute, and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts./PN
