Photo:Ambassador Constancio R. Vingno Jr., signs the MOU for Cooperation in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) with H.E. Ahmed Abdulrahman Al-Jarman, Assistant Minister for Human Rights and International Law at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the UAE. Looking on are Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Enrique A. Manalo and UAE Ambassador to the Philippines H.E. Hamad Al Zaabi. (DFA)
‘There is now a mutual recognition. Yung certificate natin with TESDA will suffice. Hindi na kailangang magpa-certify sa mga accreditation centers nila dito sa UAE. Magiging madali na ang employment process.
DUBAI: Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who have obtained skills upgrade with the Philippines’ Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), through an accredited training agency in the UAE, can now seek better paying jobs without having to go through a cumbersome certification process because the local government, duty-bound by a recently signed agreement, already honors their TESDA credentials.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU), signed by TESDA and the UAE’s National Qualifications Authority (NQA) on May 9, 2018, highlights mutual cooperation between the two countries in the area of Technical, Vocational, Education and Training (TVET), guaranteeing that the certifications issued will be recognized here in the UAE.
Used to be when OFWs planning on career growth had to go home in the Philippines, undergo TESDA skills training and obtain certification, which by itself would need to be “red-ribbon authenticated” by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
With the agreement, all that an OFW has to do is go through the training with the TESDA-accredited company in the UAE, obtain TESDA certification and look for a job; or if they wish, open their own business, provided all UAE requirements and regulations are followed.
Opportunities
Ambassador Constancio R. Vingno said the agreement is a great opportunity for the Philippines and the UAE as each country will be able to gauge and see the quantity and quality of trainings done and how well equipped the facilities are. “The Philippines and the UAE can learn from each other with this agreement,” Vingno told The Filipino Times.
Atty. Ophelia Almenario, the Philippines’ labor attaché in Abu Dhabi, for her part said the memorandum of understanding (MOU) “opens the window of opportunities wider for OFWs.”
She explains: “There is now a mutual recognition. Yung certificate natin with TESDA will suffice. Hindi na kailangang magpa-certify sa mga accreditation centers nila dito sa UAE. Magiging madali na ang employment process.” (Our TESDA certificate will suffice. There is no more need for OFWs to have their TESDA credentials be certified by UAE accreditation centers. This will hasten the employment process.)
In concrete terms, what this means is that an OFW who has, for instance, obtained TESDA certification for housekeeping, can go ahead and apply for available jobs without the need for that certification to be validated by the UAE.
The TESDA accreditations are called National Certificates (NC) which are graded into NC 2 and NC 3.
Mutual recognition
One of the key benefits of the signed agreement is that all certifications issued by TESDA or certifications provided by TESDA-accredited centers – NC 2 or NC 3 – will now be recognized by its UAE counterpart, the NQA.
“Kung halimbawa beautician ka, tapos holder ka ng TESDA certificate, ire-recognize yan dito. Kung sakali mang manghihingi ang UAE ng certification, with the signing of this MOU, which recognizes the certificate issued by TESDA, magagamit na natin yung ipapakita natin na NC2 or NC3. Kung hihingin na,” said Almenario.
(If for instance an OFW is a beautician and she holds a TESDA certificate, that certificate will be recognized here. If the UAE asks for a certification, with the signing of this MOU, which recognizes the certificate issued by TESDA, the NC 2 or NC would suffice.)
Vingno added that the MOU will likewise establish a joint working group, comprised of senior officials from both countries, to oversee the program: “They will be responsible for the work program of cooperation activities and come up with recommendations for TESDA and NQA for the recognition arrangements that will be implemented to achieve the purposes of the MOU,” he said.
Requirements
Almenario said documents required for the skills upgrade are a manpower profile form; TESDA application form; and a self-assessment guide that may be obtained and submitted to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office at the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi.
The documents may also be submitted to Orient Management Consulting & Training (Orient MCT), the only TESDA-accredited assessment center in the UAE, which got on board only last year.
The registration process is assisted by the Filipino Learning Organization (FLO) and the Association of Filipino TESDA Trainers and Assessors (AFTTA), both of which were accredited by the embassy also last year.
Surge
Juan Paolo Arao, FLO co-founder said they were anticipating an increase in applicants following the MOU signing.
“We are expecting a surge in the number of OFWs who wish to be trained and get their TESDA certificates.”Arao said.
He noted that FLO has already helped over 5,000 OFWs upgrade their skills and get better employment even prior to the MOU signing. Quoting a recent research done by FLO President Allen Samonte, Arao said “with or without the MOU, Filipinos are keen to be trained under TESDA for their upskilling as required by their companies and as demanded by the industries.”
Almenario said those with NCs can set up their own businesses. “The NC validates their competencies and credentials as professionals rendering professional service that conforms to the standards set by TESDA. They can attach their NC to their business permit application,” she said.
Origins
The MOU was first initiated in 2015 by Labor Attaché Delmer Cruz of Dubai. Almenario said NQA officials visited the TESDA offices in the Philippines in the same year to review the agency’s processes and have it compared with that of NQA’s.
“Nagpunta ang NQA doon (last 2015) para makita ang TESDA natin doon. Tapos papaano inaassess, tinignan nila kung comparable ba dito sa ginagawa ng NQA. Pumunta din dito ang team natin ng TESDA at nagusap na dito,” said Almenario. (NQA went there in 2015 to see TESDA and review how the assessments were being done. They tried to see whether TESDA’s system is comparable with what NQA does here. TESDA officials also went here after that and talks started.)
“We negotiated for this MOU for the upskilling of our OFWs. It provides growth for OFWs as they will have better and more opportunities for employment,” she said.
After a series of negotiations, meetings, and changes over the years in the agreement, the MOU was reviewed by both parties and finally signed on last May 9.
TESDA used to be under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). The current administration placed it directly under the Office of the President. TESDA focuses on skills upgrading and providing relevant qualification standards to Filipinos for them to increase employability and capabilities.
TESDA Director General Guiling Mamondiong was in the UAE around this time last year to monitor progress of the undertaking on the MOU.
