SOLID NORTH – ‘HELP TESDA GRADS FIND JOBS ASAP’

Over 600,000 Filipinos are expected to graduate from trainings provided by the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority this year.

The next challenge now lies in ensuring that these graduates find jobs immediately, according to a member of the House of Representatives’ higher and technical education committee.

“We are happy that with Tesda’s increased budget, more and more Filipinos have access to its various training programs. But now we have to look even farther and focus on helping them finds jobs right after graduation,” Solid North Party-list Rep. Ching Bernos said.

Tesda secured a historic P19-billion allocation for scholarships in the 2026 national budget, which allows them to fund around 630,000 to 650,000 scholars for its 20,000 training program offerings.

While Tesda Director General Jose Francisco B. Benitez noted that the employability rate of Tesda graduates ranges from 83 percent to 86 percent, however, the Second Congressional Commission on Education found that only around 38 percent of technical and vocational education and training graduates have found jobs six months after their studies.

Bernos underlined the need for these graduates to find jobs as soon as possible.

“A delay in finding jobs could mean missed opportunities for further training, a continued inability to sustain food, shelter, and other family needs, or even lead to debt and being mired deeper into poverty,” she said.

“Ang bawat buwan na hindi makakahanap ng trabaho para sa Tesda graduates ay dagdag na buwan ng pagkadehado at pagdarahop. Kaya mahalagang lumikha tayo ng solusyon upang mas maaga silang makahanap ng trabaho sa industriyang pasok sa kasanayan nila.”