The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) on Wednesday said it is continuing its partnership with South Korea to boost the capacity of Filipinos in joining skills competitions.
TESDA Deputy Director General Aniceto “John” Bertiz III represented the country in the recently-concluded K-STAR (Korea Skills Transfer for Aspiring Regions) program in Seoul.
This was an initiative of the Human Resource Development Service of Korea (HRDKorea) through their agency Global Institute for Transferring Skills, inviting partner countries like Costa Rica, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Lao PDR and the Philippines to strengthen cooperation.
“(During the program slated from Aug. 26 to Sept. 2) I discussed capacity building and training of our experts and competitors for the 2023 Asean Skills Competition in Singapore. Skill areas and duration of training are to be discussed in the near future,” Bertiz told the Philippine News Agency in an interview.
Expenses for the K-STAR program were shouldered by the South Korean government.
This program, he said, also aims to provide greater awareness and capacity among stakeholders in skills competition, as well as provide the opportunity to observe the Korea National Skills Competition and its management. Further, it serves as an avenue to share expertise in the field of skills development.
“HRDKorea has been pushing forward the role of skills competition all over the globe. As one of the members of WorldSkills International who also participates in international skills competition, they may have seen us as a strategic partner to further skills development through skills competition within the region,” Bertiz said.
TESDA and HRDKorea have signed a partnership agreement in June 2021. The agreement involves the sending of Philippine delegates to South Korea to participate in programs like the K-STAR program. Several online seminars were held last year. The program will run until December 2023.
The opening ceremony for the National Skills Competition was held at the Changwon Exhibition and Convention Center (CECO) in Gyeongnam province, while the actual venues for the Korean skills competition were held in different stadiums in Changwon, Gimhae, Jinju, and Sancheon.
Last Aug. 31, the Philippine delegates attended a seminar on skills competition where HRDKorea project manager Youngil Cho discussed the skills competition system in South Korea.
HRDKorea is a government organization under South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor.
Bertiz said he is looking forward to a continuous collaboration between HRDKorea and TESDA in creating new and innovative ideas for sustainable skills development. (PNA)
