Sa PICA at TESDA Gaganda ang Buhay mo!
SECRETARY AUGUSTO BOBOY SYJUCO
DIRECTOR GENERAL
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
October 15, 2008
(PICA President Fanny Serrano, other officers and members of PICA, and guests.)
Ladies and gentlemen. Good afternoon.
Our warmest congratulations to the officers and members of the Philippine International Cosmetologists Association.
PICA is one of the very dynamic and supportive partners of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in the development of the best cosmetologists in the country and thus making the Filipinos, rich or poor, beautiful and fashionable not only on special occasions but every day. You have made beauty, fashion and wellness part of the everyday lives of our people.
***Speech at the induction and oath taking program of the Philippine International Cosmetologists Association and launch of Cosmetologie 2009, Embassy Club, The Fort, October 15, 2008. ***
We therefore extend to you our felicitations. First, in uniting and bringing together the “jewels”, “treasures”, and “icons” of the cosmetology industry. Second, on the induction of your officers. And third, on the launching of Cosmetologie 2009 - the country’s biggest international trade show on beauty, fashion, and health and wellness.
While your association is still in its infancy stage, you have already gone a long way. I wish you all good luck in your service to the association and to society in general.
Today is a really a beautiful and memorable day for all of us. I am glad to be here not as a guest but a friend and an associate, your Tito Boboy I feel good in the company of connoisseurs of beauty, health and wellness. Your company makes my day!
I am particularly inspired to be here with you as we celebrate the successes of our very dear friend Fanny Serrano and you, the officers and members of PICA. You are the models that other Filipinos must emulate.
We all know that the world right now is in a very difficult situation. We have all read in the papers and heard all over of the sad state of the world economy – the financial crisis, closing down of businesses, and possible laying-off of workers. Everybody seems to be pessimistic about this.
While the rest of the world feel jittery over all these financial woes, I strongly believe that the Filipinos can surmount these difficulties. Why am I saying this?
It is because we have the example of Fanny Serrano. We have the success stories of most of you here who started from scratch, battled the storm, surmounted all the difficulties and pursued successful careers. This time, we need your stories. We need to share these to inspire other people, particularly to the bigger portion of the Filipinos who are poor and the powerless.
We need to propagate technical-vocational training, promote entrepreneurship and create employment opportunities for our youth and the unemployed, particularly in the rural areas. We strongly believe that we can do all these with TESDA and PICA together.
Working partners
TESDA and PICA have been working partners for sometime now. We were together in setting the training standards and in the formulation and pilot testing of assessment tools for priority skills in the health and social services sector.
As one of our reliable partners and a leading professional group in the sector, we will continue to rely on you in giving us signals and updates on the skills development needs and work professionalization activities.
We are happy to report to your group that to date, we have four training regulations with corresponding assessment tools for existing workers and those interested in learning a skill and joining the sector later. These regulations are for Beauty Care NC II, Beauty Care NC III, Hair Dressing NC II, and Hair Dressing NC III.
These training regulations and assessment tools were not set and formulated
by TESDA alone. These were the “products” of our partnership with groups
and individual experts and continuing consultations.
We in TESDA will continue to explore new areas where we can effectively work together in addition to what we already have successfully done in standards setting and skills assessment and certification.
For today’s meeting, I have some good news on our current programs and services which would be of interest to your members and the sector.
Journey of hope
What are we doing or have done in TESDA to fast track the Filipino workers journey of hope to a fulfilling world of work?
TESDA’s Youth Profiling for Starring Careers (YP4SC) helps young Filipinos make right career choices, based on an objective assessment of their strengths and interests. Career profiling using the YP4SC system is now available online thru the eTESDA portal.
To provide the manpower for highly critical and emerging skills, Her Excellency, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo grants scholarships thru TESDA in priority economic sectors under the PGMA Training for Work Scholarship Program (PGMA-TWSP). Scholars are given options to
enroll in any private or public training institutions with TESDA-registered programs.
eTESDA is another innovation that broadens access to TESDA’s information and training services. Now under construction, this electronic portal will offer on-line training to Filipinos through the internet. in on-line training courses.
The PGMA Free Assessment Services of TESDA provides free assessment and certification to our poor, job-ready students and workers who cannot afford paying the assessment fees.
The TESDA Language Skills Institute (LSI) provides training scholarships in communication skills particularly in the spoken language of the workplace.
The provision of quality skills training, scholarships and training assistance, free skills assessment and certification, career profiling and workplace language training are all aimed at enhancing the employability and productivity of Filipino workers. These, too, are in support of the government’s job-creation strategy.
Spread the good news
Because of our common aspirations for the Filipino skilled workers, I ask PICA members to share the good news about skills and jobs to your families and friends and help TESDA bring the message of hope to Filipino workers. The hope of getting a job fast and starting a career in the world of work. The hope for a better life for them and their families.
Our two organizations can also look into three new cooperation areas in technical-vocational education and training:
* Under the leadership of PICA and other sector associations, you can start looking into a sect oral assessment and certification program to expand the reach of this service.
* PICA, together with other sector associations, can also work with TESDA in the training and development of competitors in beauty care and hairdressing to represent the Philippines in regional and international skills competitions.
* Work on training regulations and assessment tools should be a continuing joint effort to cover emerging skills and competencies.
We also invite PICA to partner with us in the implementation of select, if not all, of the TESDA programs and services that I have mentioned.
And in all these joint efforts, we bring to our people the message, “Sa TESDA (at PICA) gaganda ang buhay mo!”
Muli, isang ma-beuting hapon sa inyong lahat!
Sa TESDA (at PICA) gaganda ang buhay mo
SECRETARY AUGUSTO BOBOY SYJUCO
DIRECTOR GENERAL
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
TESDA and PICA have been working partners
for sometime now. We were together in setting
the training standards and in the formulation
and pilot testing of assessment tools for priority
skills in the health and social services sector.