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Sunday, July 29, 2012

Learn and Earn In New DOLE Program


Spice up your educational background with an extra skill and earn more in the future.
This is the advice of Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz to students and graduates as she encouraged them to take short-term technical-vocational courses which shall augment their degrees, or even create vast opportunities for them in the world of work.

“As the country’s labor market has gone increasingly competitive, technical and vocational training has been a reliable and cost-effective way that can help our future workforce reinforce themselves with higher chances of landing productive, in-demand jobs,” Baldoz said.

“It’s about time that students get educated with the latest labor market information. Instead of taking popular courses, those less considered courses and training programs may yet prove to be the best paying and most fulfilling. Some of these courses and training program are in the technical-vocational (tech-voc) field and offer the fastest turnaround from classroom to workplace, from new skills to paychecks,” she added.

Baldoz’s advice came as she cited computer technicians, bakers, and steamfitters as three of the in-demand technical-vocational careers featured in the DOLE’s Career Guides, which can be accessed at the Bureau of Local Employment’s website, http://ble.dole.gov.ph/career.asp.

Making another pitch for the Career Guides, Baldoz said working students who want to earn while pursuing their tertiary education or even after graduation can take up a computer technician course, or become a baker, or steamfitter.

“There is no specific educational requirement for these tech-voc careers. To become a baker, for example, one may not need to finish hefty degrees in Culinary Arts, Hotel and Restaurant Management, or to become a computer technician, one needs not have a degree in Information Technology. They only need to finish apprenticeship programs and/or short-term courses offered by training schools and centers accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA),” Baldoz said.

“The DOLE, through the TESDA, provides massive technical-vocational skills training, retraining, and upgrading of workers, in response to the requirements of modern industries for highly-skilled, flexible, and more productive manpower,” she explained.

Baldoz said training courses for aspiring Bakers, Computer Technicians, and Steamfitters are being offered at P5,000 to P12,000 at TESDA accredited institutions nationwide.

The TESDA website cites training programs on commercial baking offered by the Center for Advance Training in Food and Beverage Services, while computer-related courses such as PC assembly, hardware, and software troubleshooting, laptop servicing, PC LAN/WAN set-up, and computer hardware servicing at the CATIA Foundation, Inc., and Computer Networking Career and Training Center Inc.

Meanwhile, those interested in steamfitting or pipefitting may go directly to TESDA offices to know more about the 202-hour pipefitting training course and its competency-based curriculum which covers the basic, common, and core competencies required to competently perform pipefitting tasks such as cutting bevel and thread pipes; tack welding; installing underground piping and overhead piping systems.

Local entry level salaries for these tech-voc careers range from P8,000 to P15,000 per month. Some may even go freelance or opt to work overseas. Steamfitters may earn $700 to $800 monthly, while Bakers in United States and Canada can receive monthly compensation of $2,212 to $2,238.

As for Computer Technicians, local minimum salaries range from P500 a day and up, while abroad, computer-savvy workers can earn average salaries of $18.18 per hour.

Translating into action the paradigm of “seek-find-train-certify-employ” strategy to enhance skills training and upgrading, Badloz expressed confidence that enrolling in tech-voc courses is a ‘plus factor’’ that will make students more ‘marketable’ as they become ‘specialistas’ in the country’s bank of human resources with their acquired specialized skills.

“It takes only months of apprenticeship/learnership to obtain knowledge and skills about these jobs. I advice students and jobseekers who want to earn and most importantly to experience work ethics firsthand, to try these short-term and part-time careers as they prepare themselves for the bigger world of work that awaits them,” Baldoz said.

The DOLE's 101 Career Guides feature in-demand jobs/careers viable in the next five to ten years. It describes the basic education requirements of a job, skills and competencies, attributes and characteristics, salary/compensation, prospect for career advancement, employment opportunities, and cost of education or training. It seeks to aid and supplement students and jobseekers alike, with current information on particular jobs to make informed decisions about their chosen careers. To know more about other upcoming in-demand jobs, visit DOLE’s 101 Career Guide at www.ble.dole.gov.ph.

source: DOLE

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