All of us – rich and poor, young and old, skilled and untrained – have many options in life. We just have to be reminded that these options are ours for the taking.

TESDA is here to remind Filipinos that yes, they have options other than what they think they already have; and that yes, these options to make life better are just within their reach.

Take for example Gilbert Azur, a scholar of the TESDA Finishing Course for Call Center Agent (FCCCA) who attended the Language Skills Institute (LSI) training.

Gilbert says he does not just rely on luck. He believes more in hard work, in doing his best to make something out of his life. “The probability of winning the lottery for those who bet and for those who didn’t is just the same. So don’t rely on your luck, do your best instead,” Gilbert tells us. He is now a regular employee of GENPACT, a business process outsourcing company in Alabang, a job he found through TESDA’s jobs bridging program.

TESDA may be known for providing skills training and retooling to those who can’t afford to go to college because of poverty, but another important component of our job here is to make sure that our graduates get jobs. Without jobs, what are they training for anyway?

The total number of TESDA scholars under the Pangulong Gloria Scholarship Program has already reached 809, 800, an increase of 62 times from its 1996 figures of 13,000 scholars. The most logical thing to do is to help them get jobs fast. Thus, our graduates who get jobs here or abroad, for the skills that they actually trained for, are the ultimate proofs that we are doing our job. This gives us satisfaction indeed!

‘GOLD’ IN JOBS BRIDGING

Our Jobs Bridging and Internship Program (JBIP), which started in May 2009 under the stewardship of DDG Rogelio C. Peyuan, takes care of this aspect by assisting TekBok graduates in finding employment through job referral or matching.

In every JBIP event, job seekers go through registration and are given a TESDA Gold Card which contains information about the applicant.

The job seekers are then urged to go through an orientation where they learn about the do’s and don’ts of job hunting and eventual employment.

Later, these job seekers proceed to apply using their Gold Card for for job vacancies posted by participating companies.

The job fairs are TESDA’s way of extending assistance to the people, making sure that they get the best job fit and that they immediately put to good use their acquired 3Ks -, kaalaman, kagalingan, at kasanayan – after a rigorous training.

TESDA has partnered with the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) and Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to better serve graduates securing jobs here and abroad. JBIP is open to all job seekers and companies looking for workforce which include accredited companies of JobsDB, different government agencies, LGUs and several local and national recruitment agencies.

To date, TESDA has held 10 jobs bridging events from up there in Region I all the way to Region XII in General Santos City where 49,055 registered job seekers from all over the country participated. These events also help TESDA track the Pangulong Gloria scholars and other technical-vocational or Tek-Bok graduates.

Access is what we at TESDA are giving our countrymen – access to education, access to training, access to jobs, access to opportunities, and we are encouraging everyone to grab these opportunities which really belong to every Filipino who needs them. Sa TESDA, may Laban ka!

(There will be a jobs bridging event in Nueva Vizcaya on Nov. 25 and 26, and in Zamboanga City on Dec. 3-4. For details on the schedule of Jobs Bridging contact your nearest TESDA Center.)