BANGKOK (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Skills for Prosperity Programme in the Philippines (SfP-Philippines), funded by the United Kingdom government, has provided representatives of its key partners with practical online training for assessing and building inclusive technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and skills systems, aiming to facilitate their efforts to address formidable and persistent barriers to equality of opportunity for women and other vulnerable and marginalized groups.

Run by the International Training Centre of the ILO for 8 weeks from 1 February to 26 March 2021, the E-Learning Course on Skills Development for Social Inclusion offered a 60-hour learning experience to 11 key representatives from the programme’s partners – five from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), two from the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) and one each from the National Youth Commission (NYC), the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA), the National Council on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP). These partners play an instrumental and central role in developing inclusive TVET and skills system policies and programmes.

"This training course made me realize what I can do as an NCDA staff member, especially for our sector of persons with disabilities,” said Jemellee Aguilar, NCDA Administrative Aide VI.

“TVET provides equal opportunity to all and can help persons with disabilities utilize their talents while building self-respect and self-reliance. My learnings can indeed help in my work with NCDA towards achieving its main goal of empowering persons with disabilities in their social, educational, political and psychological capacities,” she added.

Notwithstanding the well-established legal and regulatory frameworks promoting women’s empowerment, gender equality and social inclusion in the Philippines, a segment of the female population such as those in rural areas – along with other marginalized groups like persons with disabilities, indigenous people and youth not in education, employment and training – still face limitations when it comes to accessing quality TVET.

The course is part of the programme’s capacity-building support to stakeholders in enhancing equity and ensuring social inclusion in TVET. It contributes to the programme’s objectives to assist the constituents and other stakeholders in the country in the process of developing sustained multi-party partnerships in TVET and learner-centred TVET training programmes. SfP-Philippines also aims to enhance the quality, relevance and cost-effectiveness of TVET.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the unemployment rate in the Philippines and, without a doubt, risksd exacerbating inequalities. By making TVET and skills systems more inclusive and responsive to industry needs, women and those from marginalized groups will be equipped with the right skills set and enjoy better job prospects,” said Eduardson Flores, SfP-Philippines Senior Project Officer.

The course endorses a holistic approach to the training and labour market inclusion process – from accessibility of training to participation, graduation and work transition for all. It covered the topics of inclusive TVET systems and policies, accessibility in TVET, social inclusion in skills training delivery, and inclusive assessment and certification.

It provided a venue for participants to learn from international experts and share experiences with others from different parts of the world.

Towards the end of the course, the participants developed individual action plans to address TVET inclusion challenges within their respective agencies and areas of work.

The training also served as an opportunity to promote inter-agency coordination in TVET.

“The strong interest of the participants in the training and their continuing collaboration demonstrates our partners’ determination and commitment to make TVET and skills systems inclusive for all,” said Mr Flores.