Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Director General Jose Francisco Benitez and Negros Island Region Interim Regional Director Niña Connie Dodd (4th and 5th from left) present the certificate of recognition to the Association of Negros Producers Inc., led by chairperson Arlene Infante and president Christina Marie Gaston (2nd and 3rd from left) at a ceremony at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, on Saturday.*CPG photo
The Association of Negros Producers Inc. (ANP) has been formally recognized by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) as the Regional Industry Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Board for the Creative Sector in the Negros Island Region (NIR).
ANP president Christina Marie Gaston and chairperson Arlene Infante received the certificate of recognition from TESDA Director General Jose Francisco Benitez and TESDA-NIR Interim Director Niña Connie Dodd during the TVET-Industry Partnerships and Milestone Ceremony at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, on Saturday, August 23.
“That is the significance of creating industry TVET boards like ANP. It is through our partnerships with industry that we can ensure a workforce that is globally competitive and the means and mechanisms to address the job skills mismatch in as flexible a mode or as fast a mode as we possibly can,” Benitez said.
The TESDA-NIR and the ANP signed the memorandum of agreement on Aug. 12 for the establishment the Negros Industry TVET Board for Creative Sector (NITB-C).
“The ANP is the first-ever industry association TVET Board among the 10 priority sectors in Negros Island. It is now officially our pilot industry partner in the region,” Dodd said.
The NITB-C is an independent industry-led body that aims to bridge the gap between the demands of the industries and the TVET skills standards.
Under the agreement, TESDA-NIR will provide assistance to NITB-C on needed resources and facilitate the development and review of training regulations, competency standards, competency-based curriculum, competency assessment tools, expansion of assessment and certification infrastructure, and TVET program registration.
It will also develop guidelines that would encourage wider participation of the industry in the implementation of apprenticeship, dual training system, program for accelerating farm school establishment, in-company training, and supervised industry learning.
ANP will provide the necessary labor market information to TESDA in aid of policy and program decisions, as well as lead in the conduct of industry consultations and provide experts in analyzing and forecasting skills needed for skill development.
Infante said they are committed to work closely with TESDA to make the NITB-C a successful pilot initiative in the region.
“Beyond the garments sector, we have five more sectors in need of this kind of collaboration and partnership,” she added.
The Bacolod-based ANP is the organizer of the Negros Trade Fair, the country’s longest-running provincial trade fair held annually in Metro Manila since 1985.*PNA