While the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s (TESDA) annual budget has increased over the past years, Senator Win Gatchalian said the agency should address the persistent high rates of jobs-skills mismatch among Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET or tech-voc) graduates.
Using TESDA’s Individual Graduate Tracer Surveys for the years 2013, 2014, and 2017, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimated that occupational mismatch rates hover around 60% to 80% in the years mentioned.
In 2017, 70% of respondents had jobs which were not the occupational expectations of their training in school.
Assessing occupational group mismatch is one of the matching techniques that compares the expected and actual post-training occupation of the TVET graduate.
For example, individuals who completed their Shielded Metal Arc Welding National Certificate Level II (NC II) are expected to be employed as welders. If these same individuals are hired as restaurant staff, they are experiencing training-job mismatch.
Over the past six years, TESDA’s budget grew by about 19.71% on average.
For Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, TESDA’s proposed budget is P14.7 billion, which is P94.8 million or 0.65% higher compared to the 2021 budget.
“This is quite concerning considering that the budget of TESDA has skyrocketed over the last 10 years.”
“This is quite concerning considering that the budget of TESDA has skyrocketed over the last 10 years. At this time, TESDA is receiving P14 billion more or less, on average, pero may mga report pa rin tayong nakukuha na 70-80% ng mga graduates ng TESDA ay nakakuha ng trabaho na hindi angkop sa kanilang naging pagsasanay o training,” Gatchalian said during a Senate panel hearing on TESDA’s proposed 2022 budget.
The ADB has also flagged that from 2014-2020, enrollment in enterprise-based tech-voc training (EBT) programs, which are conducted within companies, account for only 4% of total enrollment. While some tasks and skills may become redundant and irrelevant because of rapid technological change and the industry 4.0, EBT offers an edge because it is more aligned with rapidly evolving workplace and workshop needs, the ADB noted.
“Enterprise-based training is an exciting method.”
“Enterprise-based training, for me, is an exciting method because it’s a way for enterprises and for businesses to train based on their needs, and a person can work in their factories or their businesses immediately after being trained,” the veteran legislator said.
“The enterprise-based method, in simple terms, is apprenticeship, and I hope that we can increase this,” the seasoned lawmaker concluded.
