Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Secretary Jose Francisco Benitez highlighted skills recognition and mobility during his participation in the WorldSkills Conference in Shanghai, China, the agency said on Thursday.

“Skills recognition is becoming increasingly important as workers move across borders and industries look beyond traditional qualifications. We need systems that recognize what people know and can do, wherever and however those skills were acquired,” Benitez was quoted as saying.

The TESDA chief participated in a session that examined how skills recognition frameworks can support cross-border mobility, lifelong learning, and labor-market relevance amid the growing shift toward skills-first approaches worldwide.

“As industry becomes more involved in defining and certifying skills, we also have to make sure that these opportunities remain accessible. Skills recognition should help open doors, not create additional barriers for those who need opportunities the most,” he said.

According to TESDA, the discussion examined how national and international competency frameworks and standards can provide an overarching structure linking qualifications systems, skills taxonomies, digital and micro-credentials, and private sector engagement.

“These frameworks can help establish common references for recognizing competencies and supporting the portability of skills across countries and labor markets,” TESDA said.

Discussions also tackled mutual recognition of qualifications, digital credentials, regional qualifications frameworks, and cross-border apprenticeship and work-based learning models.

The conference, scheduled Sept. 22-27, gathered global leaders to discuss how to address shifting workforce demands.

“TESDA’s participation in the conference is part of its ongoing engagement with the global skills community to exchange knowledge, learn from international practices,” the agency said. (PNA)