SKILLS COMPETITION. TESDA-NIR Acting Regional Director Niña Connie Dodd (left) and TESDA-Negros Oriental Provincial Director Fletcher Gumahad (right) announce the first Regional Skills Olympics in Dumaguete City from June 8 to 10, 2026, during a forum on Wednesday (June 3, 2026). Seventy-five participants from Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and Siquijor will compete in 17 skills events. (PNA photo by Mary Judaline F. Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY – Negros Oriental will host the first-ever Negros Island Region (NIR) Regional Skills Competition from June 8 to 10, with 75 participants from three provinces competing in 17 events, officials of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) announced Wednesday.
Niña Connie Dodd, acting TESDA regional director in NIR, expressed excitement over the activity, dubbed “WorldSkills Philippines NIR 2026.”
“We want to showcase that NIR, despite being a new region and smaller than other regions, our graduates, the trainees that we produce, are at par or even excel in international standards,” Dodd said.
She said joining the WorldSkills Competition will help them “gauge the competencies of our standards.”
Dodd emphasized that their aim is not solely to earn gold medals in the region but to guarantee that NIR’s representatives achieve victory at the national level.
TESDA Negros Oriental Provincial Director Fletcher Gumahad said the 75 participants come from the academe – Negros Oriental with 32, Negros Occidental with 30, and Siquijor with 13. He expressed hope to reach out to industries in the future to participate in the skills competition.
The 17 skill areas are organized under five sectors: social and personal services (baking, cooking, restaurant service); construction and building technology (cabinet making, carpentry, electrical installation, wall and floor tiling); information and communication technology (cybersecurity, ICT network infrastructure, web technologies); creative arts and fashion (fashion technology, floristry, graphic design technology); and manufacturing and engineering technology (electronics, welding, autonomous mobile robotics, mechatronics).
Competing institutions include Lazi Technical Institute and PTC-Siquijor in Siquijor; University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, RTC Talisay, University of St. La Salle, STI West Negros University, Carlos Hilado Memorial Language and Information Technology Center, and TUP-Visayas in Negros Occidental; and ACSAT-Dumaguete, PTC Dumaguete, Foundation University, Metro Dumaguete College, with full support from the Negros Oriental Association of TVET Institutions (NOATI) in Negros Oriental. (PNA)
