EDITORIAL
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) suddenly both announced that they have specific programs to make the life of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) easier.
TESDA is targeting to provide free assessment to 1,500 OFWs across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Singapore. The goal is to provide assessment to OFWs without having to go back to the Philippines. Qualified OFWs will receive competency certification, allowing them to get better work opportunities, TESDA said.
Meanwhile, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) launched last week a driver's license renewal program for overseas Filipino workers.
LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said the program was under the agency's "Pinabilis sa Bagong Bayani ang Magkalisensya" (LTO-PBBM) program.
Mendoza said the LTO-PBBM project was a result of discussions between Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista and Migrant Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac.
These developments were undertaken to coincide with the nation’s celebration of the National Migrant Workers’ Day last June 7, with the DMW under Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac as prime mover.
In the case of TESDA, Director General Suharto Mangudadatu said, "We are bringing our free assessment to our OFWs in different countries so that they won’t need to go back to the Philippines just to be assessed and certified.”
He said OFWs need to be certified for job retention, promotion or to explore other job opportunities.
TESDA's overseas assessment program will be held at the Universal Skills Development Institute and Filipino Computer & Literacy Program in Jeddah from June 14 to 20; Power Technical Training Center in Dubai from June 22 to 26; and CARE Academy, Bayan Academy, and Home Academy in Singapore on July 27 to 28.
The free assessment will be given to OFWs whether or not they received their training from TESDA. If they qualify for assessment and if they pass the actual assessment, they will be certified. The AOP is done every year based on requests from Asian and Middle East countries.
This year, the 1,500 target is not equally distributed to the three sites, TESDA said.
Among the qualifications to be assessed include Caregiving NC Il, Massage Therapy NC II, Electrical Installation and Maintenance NC II and III, and PV Systems Installation NC II, Automotive Servicing (Engine Repair) NC II, Automotive Servicing (Electrical Repair) NC II, Events Management Services NC III, and Trainers Methodology Level I.
Interestingly, the LTO initiative is another product of the instruction of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. not only to make the government services fast and comfortable to all Filipinos, whether in the Philippines or abroad, but also his directive to go digital to further bring government services closer to the people.
The project would be convenient for Filipinos working and living abroad to renew their licenses without physically appearing at the LTO, streamlining the license renewal process, and making it easier for OFWs to maintain a valid Philippine driver's license.
"This project will save time and reduce the financial burden on Filipinos living or working abroad, who might otherwise need to travel back to the Philippines to renew their driver's license," Mendoza said.
"Also, this is aimed at aligning with global trends in e-governance and modernizing government services by offering online license renewal, reflecting a commitment to digital transformation," he added.
The launching of the program coincided with the Migrant Workers' Day celebrations, with Cacdac thanking Mendoza and Bautista for "finding ways to improve the services to the Filipino migrant workers" and citing the importance of the driver's license in some of the jobs of overseas Filipinos.
With the way our migrant workers are making personal sacrifices, along with their families, to work abroad and also to prop up the national economy, these government services are just a small token of gratitude and requital to them.