The Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC) and the Technical Education for Skills Development Authority (TESDA) teamed up to organize the In-Country Program on Quality Management Systems at the National TVET Trainers Academy (NTTA) in Marikina City from October 7-11, 2019.

Officials of CPSC and NTTA during the opening ceremony(left-right): Dr. Vijay Patil, CPSC Faculty Consultant and Program Coordinator; DDG Rosanna Urdaneta, TESDA Deputy Director General of Policies and Planning; Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane, CPSC Director General and Dir. Noralaine Rogong-Rasul, Director of NTTA. A total of 40 participants from the TESDA-administered schools from all over the Philippines were able to attend the five-day program which was also attended by officials from both CPSC and TESDA. This program was designed to elaborate on the concepts and principles of QMS which include principles, applications, implementation and monitoring of QMS tools. Some learning tools will also equip the participants with deeper understanding and appreciation of the value of continual improvement and the benefits of QMS as well as APACC accreditation and other quality assurance platforms.

The program was supervised by Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane, CPSC Director General and Dir. Noralaine Rogong-Rasul, the Director of NTTA. Program logistics and coordination was facilitated by Dr. Vijay Patil, CPSC Faculty Consultant and Chair of the Research, Publication and Information Division. Local resources meanwhile was provided by CPSC’s team of Faculty Specialist namely, Mr. Sanyog Bhattarai, Mr. Abdul Ghani Rajput and Ms. Therese Tan Lee, as well as Mr. Alfonso Francisco, the Supervising TESD Specialist of NTTA.

The opening ceremony was graced by TESDA, CPSC and NTTA Officials particularly the DDG Rosanna Urdaneta, the Deputy Director General of Policies and Planning. She was optimistic that the lessons of the program will be applied to the continuous improvement of the Filipino TVET institutions especially that most, if not all, are targeting to be certified by third-party institutional quality assessors such as APACC.

Some of the program participants with Dr. Vijay Patil and Mr. Sanyog Bhattarai, Program Resource Person.

During the five-day activity, topics such as: (1) quality management system concepts and principles; (2) quality assurance tools in TVET; (3) Plan-Do-Check-Act Application; (4) Preparation of the Continuous Improvement Plan; (5) Preparation of Digitized TVET Monitoring and Evaluation Tool and (6) Preparation of the Quality Assurance Implementation Plan was discussed. To complete the leaning experience, a visit to the TESDA Women’s Center was embarked.

Some of the program participants during the exercises.

The closing ceremony saw the awarding of certifications of training and appreciation from NTTA officials led by Dir. Rogong-Rasul and Ms. Maria Roque, Assistant Head of NTTA. In their closing remarks, they expressed their appreciation to CPSC for their productive efforts in organizing this activity and hopes to further carry on the lessons of the training to actual improvements in the quality of TVET in the country.

National Seminar

A half-day seminar on “TVET Quality Management System for Producing Skilled Workforce” was held on October 10, 2019. The seminar tackled a timely opportunity to share knowledge and experiences on the educational and training dimension of producing the skilled workforce and to discuss the policy tools, the coordinating mechanisms and the scope of national educational and training strategies to deal with employment opportunities in Philippines.

Speakers during the seminar include: (1) Dr. Vijay Patil, CPSC Faculty Consultant; (2) Engr. Eric Jude Soliman, President/CEO of ASEAN Engineer of Hytec Power Inc.; (3) Mr. Alfonso Francisco, Supervising TVET Specialist of NTTA and (3) Ms. Janet M. Abasolo, Chief TESD Specialist of the TESDA Program Registration Division.

The seminar covered case presentations from various institutions/ organizations with successful models in promoting skills for enhancing the employment opportunities and the youth employability in the changing nature of for the future of work.

The participants at the NTTA Headquarters in Marikina City