TESDA offers skills training for indigenous people

MANILA, Philippines - Indigenous people (IPs) can now look forward to better livelihood and employment.

The Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) announced plans to expand technical vocational training that will prepare IPs  for the ASEAN integration next year.

TESDA chief Joel Villanueva said they are providing  skills training to enable IPs to seek better livelihood and employment opportunities.

“Technical vocational education and training (TVET) can pave the way for empowering the IPs and integrating them in economic development,” Villanueva said.

In rural areas, Villanueva said  the IPs are more likely to work as agricultural laborers.  In urban areas  some of them may engage in informal jobs that lack security of tenure, social benefits and health care.

“Arming them with education, through TVET, will take them out of this situation and make them skilled and competitive,” Villanueva said.

The TESDA chief said empowering vulnerable sectors like the IPs ahead of the integration of the ASEAN economies by 2015 would ensure that no one would be left behind.

“Free movement of goods, capital and services is happening now. In this scenario, investment in skilled labor will be one of our key advantages,” Villanueva said.

The TESDA chief said the inclusivity of IPs in advancing human resources capacity must be prioritized.