MANILA – Amid coronavirus threat and the possibility that many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) may opt to return or be repatriated, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) said it could accommodate many OFWs in its training and scholarship programs.
“We are very ready for the arrival of OFWs. We have training (courses) prepared for them,” TESDA secretary Isidro Lapeña told the Philippine News Agency in an interview Friday.
Lapeña noted that for 2020, the agency has increased its budget for Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP), from P2.7 billion in 2019 to P3.1 billion. Further, TESDA will open at least 43 additional training facilities nationwide this year.
The agency has assisted more than 13,000 OFWs in 2019 and Lapeña said they can accommodate even double of that figure.
“Yes, we can accommodate even 26,000. Our budget for TWSP alone had a P400,000 increase. We still have other scholarship programs such as STEP (Special Training for Employment Program), PESFA (Private Education Student Financial Assistance), and UAQTEA (Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act),” he clarified.
For 2020, TESDA has allotted P1.4 billion for STEP; P200 million for PESFA; and P2.9 billion for UAQTEA. TESDA’s overall budget for 2020 is P12.974 billion.
The training courses, Lapeña said, would reskill the OFWs, whether they would decide to go back abroad, find a job here, or put up a business.
Among the courses being offered for returning OFWs are carpentry, scaffolding, heavy equipment operation, construction, housekeeping, hairdressing, caregiving, wellness massage, bread and pastry, cookery, basic bookkeeping, basic computer operation, and welding.
Lapeña said many women excel in welding, and companies are commenting that women’s works are polished.
“We also offer language skills training in Mandarin, Nihongo, and Arabic, to help them communicate better when they go abroad,” he added. (PNA)
