The city government of Ormoc is running a survey on what courses they have to offer based on available local jobs in preparation for the opening of a community college.

Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez on Friday said the survey would ensure better job opportunities for graduates since courses would be based on local employment demand.

“We are not just picking courses, we are running a survey so that we will know what are the gaps and to know what skills and courses the business community needs,” Gomez told reporters.

“We are looking at offering not too many courses, we just want to start with the first three to five in demand courses because we want to make a difference in employment,” she added.

Their vision is to see graduates landing jobs in Ormoc or nearby towns instead of other areas outside the region, Gomez said.

Students from Ormoc City who are qualified will have a full scholarship as the city is eyeing opening the school next year.

Gomez said the idea of putting a community college came after visiting Valenzuela City.

The two local governments signed a sisterhood agreement last week.

“We are very delighted to become a sister city of Valenzuela because this is the place which sparked our goal of creating a beautiful community college in Ormoc. When we first visited the city last July, we saw their college school and we were very impressed. We realized it was something we needed in Ormoc,” Gomez said.

Before having a sisterhood agreement with Valenzuela, the city government also had a benchmarking in Burauen town which has its own community college established in 2019.

The school started with 549 enrollees and the number rose to 4,000 this academic year, benefitting college learners from other towns in Leyte province. (PNA)