Skills for Prosperity Programme in Philippines

Virtual conference reinforces a need to make skills development accessible for all

The International Labour Organization’s Skills for Prosperity Programme in the Philippines sheds light on value of gender equality and social inclusion in technical and vocational education and training.

News | 11 December 2020
Manila, News, 11 December 2020—While girls have outperformed boys in enrolment and performance in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in the Philippines, finding a decent job is still tougher for female graduates than it is for their male counterparts. Gender-based biases in access to TVET and in occupational choices remain. The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Skills for Prosperity Programme in the Philippines (SfP-Philippines) this week shared insights on this and other gender equality and social inclusion issues in TVET at a conference organised by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

At TESDA 2020 Gender and Development Focal Points Virtual Conference held on 9-10 December, more than 60 participants from TESDA, the ILO, the Philippine Commission on Women and other stakeholders shared knowledge and discussed good practices and ways forward on these critical issues.

Inputs from this conference have helped TESDA shape its operation and budget planning for fiscal year 2021. TESDA is among the SfP-Philippines’ key partners. The programme, funded by the United Kingdom government, aims to enhance equity, quality, industry relevance and cost-effectiveness of TVET and skills development systems in the country.

Marie Labajo, SfP-Philippines gender and social inclusion consultant, shared at the conference findings and recommendations of the ILO programme’s review of gender and inclusion in the Philippine TVET sector.

She highlighted that many Philippine laws already recognise and promote women empowerment, gender equality, and social inclusion.

During the period from 2016-2019, there had been a progressive increase in the number of annual TVET enrolments with more female students attending course and graduating than male students, she said.

However, when it comes to employment, more men TVET graduates have been hired than women, she said.   For instance, even though there is a 16% increase in the percentage of TVET graduates who took the competency assessment, the majority of them are males.

According to the ILO review, the choice of courses are still limited for women, as are the occupations and jobs open to them after TVET.

Similarly, other vulnerable and marginalised groups have yet to enjoy the benefits of increasing investments in TVET and skills development systems by governmental and non-governmental organisations.

TVET needs to be more responsive to the needs of marginalised groups".

Marie Labajo, SfP-Philippines gender and social inclusion consultant
“TVET needs to be more responsive to the needs of marginalised groups”, she said referring to persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and out-of-school youth who face barriers in the  accessing TVET.

For women, domestic responsibilities and care work usually get in the way of their education or pursuance of career progression, said Ms Labajo. Many are still confined to informal employment, with lower paying, less secure and less stable jobs, in poorer working conditions and more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, she said.

As TESDA is strengthening gender equality and social inclusion in TVET in its work plan for next year, Rosanna A. Urdaneta, TESDA Deputy Director General for Policies and Planning, stressed a need for everyone to transform the work plan into action.

The review of the GAD [gender and development] agenda will give us an opportunity to reinforce the conceptualisation of our programmes and policies".

Rosanna A. Urdaneta, TESDA Deputy Director General for the Policies and Planning
“The review of the GAD [gender and development] agenda will give us an opportunity to reinforce the conceptualisation of our programmes and policies,” she said.

Eduardson Flores, SfP-Philippines Senior Project Officer shared with the participants the ILO interactive digital assessment tool on TVET inclusion  and walked them through its application. The tool is is the a guide for policymakers, representatives of workers and employers engaged in skills development systems, TVET centre managers and development practitioners, he said.
“This is the free access tool if you want to learn more and do a self-assessment of where your organizations are in terms of social inclusion in TVET,” he added.