The Secretary of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez, could not help but laud the Cebu Provincial Government’s Sugbo Kahanas program for having been able to help thousands of Cebuanos acquire much-needed skills.
“Ibibida po ng TESDA ang Sugbo Kahanas program as a prime example of how we can synergize local government initiatives with TESDA’s policies to drive inclusive and targeted development,” TESDA Sec. Benitez said.
Sec. Benitez was the honored guests at the graduation ceremony of over 600 Sugbo Kahanas beneficiaries at the capitol Social Hall on Nov. 25. They received their national certificates (NCII) from TESDA, as well as training allowances and starter tool kits from the Capitol, giving them that much-needed push to jumpstart their own business ventures.
“Patunay po ang success ng programa na ito na kapag nagtulungan ng TESDA, ang LGU, at TVET providers, marami tayong mababago na mga buhay,” he added.
The 600 attendees form part of the 3,599 Cebuano graduates of the program for this third season alone. All in all, beginning season 1, the program has helped 11,736 Cebuanos acquire tech-voc skills.
The said program, with a budget allocation of P100 million for this season and for each of the two seasons prior, provides qualified Cebuano beneficiaries with free technical and vocational skills training in partnership with TESDA and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) facilities.
Gov. Gwen Garcia, the architect behind the ultra-successful program, announced that the Capitol is raising the budget of the program for its fourth season to P200 million, ensuring the more and more Cebuanos would be given tech-voc trainings in partnership with TESDA. | SN